The Past in the Present
by FL-1705
Summary: AU Crowen, Cristina meets Owen again after a two-year separation. During this separation, Cristina has become a famous and widely renowned surgeon. What does this encounter hold for Owen and Cristina? Will one forgive the other?
1. Chapter 1: Memories

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Grey's Anatomy or the characters used in this text. This is written solely for my amusement.

* * *

Her mind flashed to the life-changing incident from two years ago. The time when he chose Teddy.

_Flashback_

"_Wait, I don't get it. You love her? You said you were just friends though, Owen. I don't get it."_

"_I'm sorry, Cristina. For keeping this from you, for hurting you. I can't just leave her hanging again. Please, you have to understand that this is for the best." Owen replied, his face giving nothing away._

_His words were greeted with silence._

"_We can still be friends." _

_Silence again._

_He tried to search for signs in those normally warm brown chocolate eyes, but the tears that appeared obscured them._

"_That's if you want to be. I understand if you don't want to see me anymore, but it wouldn't be _professional_." He stressed the final word. "Can we at least be civil at work?" _

"_Uh, okay" Cristina responded in a voice that didn't sound like it belonged to her._

"_Good" breathed Owen. He sounded relieved. "I'll see you at work then? Take care n-" He broke off before finishing the sentence._

_Pain flickered across Cristina's eyes. Take care now. She knew he couldn't say it to her. Not anymore. Not after he chose Teddy._

"_Well, take care of yourself, Cristina. See you at work" he said before turning and walking away. That was the last memory Cristina had of Owen. _

_After that encounter, she found herself walking back to her apartment with a plan to leave Seattle. She had no idea where to go, but she needed to get out of there. Fast. Deep in thought, she almost collided with the person waiting on the stairs outside her apartment. _

"_Avery." She acknowledged his presence as she tried to push past him._

"_I heard about it, Yang. And I know you're probably not in the mood to talk to me, but I think this is worth listening to. You probably want to leave Seattle right?"_

_No response._

"_Well, I've been talking to my grandfather about you, and he's interested in teaching you and providing you with mentors from all around the world using his connections. He knows about all the surgeries you performed for what-his-name, um…Burke! There's a program with two spots available. It's for those hardcore cardio surgeons. It's in Boston. Far far away from here. I've talked to Webber about it too. He doesn't approve, but there's nothing he can do about it. I've filled out a form for you already."_

_Still no response._

"_Yang, talk to me. Are you in?" he asked._

_After a pause, she replied "Yeah, I'm in."_

_She had packed all that she owned into either boxes or suitcases. Callie had moved out a few weeks ago making this much easier. Before she knew it, she was on a plane bound for Boston._

_End of Flashback._

_Since you left__  
__Things have changed__  
__I got all the things__  
__I said would come my way__  
__I got paid, got accolades__  
__now you barely recognize the life I've made _

The familiar tune interrupted Cristina's train of thoughts.

"Yang, your phone is ringing." Avery's voice rang from the other side of the room.

"I knew that" retorted an annoyed Cristina as she reached for her phone. "Cristina Yang here….. Yes, I'd be honoured if given the chance to perform such a complicated surgery. So, what hospital will it be performed at?"

A pause. An expression of shock stretched across her face.

"What? Seattle Grace… No, no it's not a problem, you don't need to find another surgeon. I'll be on the next plane to Seattle tomorrow night. See you soon."

She hung up the phone. Avery peered curiously at her shocked expression.

"Is everything alright? And did you just say Seattle Grace and complicated surgery?"

"Yeah." Cristina's face was still a mask of shock.

"So _are_ you going? What kind of surgery is it?" persisted Avery after receiving such a vague response.

"Um, I guess so. I already agreed to go. And the procedure involves something about removing an inoperable cardiac lipoma."

"But it's at Seattle Grace. Are you okay with going back there? You know, with everything that happened…" he trailed off after noticing the look on her face.

"It's only for a three days or so at the most. And it's not like I can't be _professional_." She winced at her choice of words. "Plus, I don't care anymore. He made his choice and I made mine. I made a choice to leave and move on. I've moved on." Avery's eyebrows rose skeptically, but he remained silent.

"I've moved on… End of discussion." repeated Cristina.

"Well if you're going, then _we_ better start packing."

She checked her watch. They had already checked in at the airport. The plane took off in just under 45 minutes. Damn Avery and insistence on arriving early, she thought. Then it struck Cristina; maybe I should call Mer. Mer is my person after all.

"Be right back, Avery. I'm going to call Meredith to tell her that we're coming."

_Ring Ring_

"_You have reached the voicemail of Meredith Grey. Please leave a message after the beep. *BEEP*"_

"Um hi Mer. You're probably in surgery right now, but uh I'm about to board a plane that will arrive in Seattle in approximately 7 hours. Just thought I'd let you know 'cause you're my person." She paused.

"So um, I'll see you soon!" finished Cristina in a bright and cheery Izzie voice.

Just as she was hanging up, an announcement came over the airport speakers system.

_All passengers for the CX-287G flight to Seattle may start boarding the aircraft. _

"Let's go, Yang. We've got a plane to catch. Don't wanna be late" called Avery.

She rolled her eyes at the last part.

"Yeah I'm coming."

The flight was fairly uneventful. She had tried to concentrate on the movie playing in front of her, but the whole romance storyline put her off. Her mind kept drifting back to Owen. Was he happy now? Were he and Teddy still together? Did he still work at Seattle? She had so many questions floating in her mind, but she knew they wouldn't be answered until she reached Seattle. The next three days were going to be long. If by some chance, Owen still worked at the hospital, what was she going to do and say? Should she act professionally and pretend she doesn't know him. Or should she be cold and show him the contempt that he deserved? She pondered these options.

"Nearly there. Less than 45 minutes 'til landing." Avery's voice cut across her train of thoughts. He paused,wondering if he should voice a thought that had been nagging him through the entire plane trip. Screw it, he thought. "So, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but what are you going to do about Hunt if he's still there?"

"Uh I don't want to think about it let alone talk about it" came Cristina's blunt response as she plugged in her headphones to signal that the conversation was over.

But the issue still played on her mind, what was she going to do about Owen?


	2. Chapter 2: Reality Check

"Rise and shine, Yang. Welcome to rainy Seattle." Avery's voice woke Cristina from her fragmented sleep. "Buckle up, we're about to land."

"What already?" she said groggily. She lifted the shade on the plane window. Rain pelted against the dark window of the plane. "Damn right we're in Seattle" she grumbled. "What time is it here?"

Avery checked his watch. "It's about 2am."

Passing customs and grabbing their luggage took much less time than she had anticipated. As she and Avery left the Terminal Gates, a loud scream filled the air just as she felt someone's arms tightly wrap themselves around her.

"Cristina!" Meredith's loud cry attracted a few interested looks from the passer-bys, but these were ignored as the two best friends were reunited for the first time in two years.

"Um Mer" choked Cristina's voice near Meredith's ear.

"Yeah?"

"I can't breathe."

"Oh" her arms dropped back to her side, but she still grinned from ear to ear.

"How'd you know when I'd get here?"

"Well I got your voicemail after my surgery which was about an hour ago. I looked up all the planes that were arriving and there was only one from Boston. So I woke Derek up and made him come with me to pick you up." She pointed to the half-asleep Derek who nodded groggily from one of the lounges near the exit. "But why are you here?" her expression of joy was quickly replaced with a look of concern.

"Avery Senior" Avery snorted behind her "called and offered me a chance to perform a one-time only cardiothoracic surgery which I just couldn't turn down. So I dragged him" Cristina pointed to Avery "along with me."

Knowing that Cristina was avoiding talking about Owen, Meredith decided to steer their conversation in a different direction. "So, do you know where you're staying? Alex and Izzie moved out after they got a place of their own a few weeks ago, so you're welcome to stay at my place if you want" said Meredith, ignoring Derek's groan of protest.

"Nah it's okay. We'll just stay in my apartment opposite the hospital. I don't want to rob McDreamy of his McBed and his precious McBeauty sleep" teased Cristina.

Avery cleared his throat. "Let's get going then. I need sleep." He was tired and had no intention of standing around while Meredith and Cristina talked. He and Derek grabbed the suitcases and together with Meredith and Cristina headed out into the pouring rain.

* * *

_-On-call room at Seattle Grace Hospital-_

_Beep Beep. _A pager went off early in the morning.

"Ugh. What now? Please don't be mine" groaned Teddy as she reached over Owen to grab the offending pager. "Wake up, Owen. It's yours" she said as she prodded Owen gently.

Owen jerked violently awake breathing heavily. His arms lashing out in all directions, sending the pager in Teddy's hands flying into the air. Teddy shrunk back instinctively.

"It's okay, Owen. It's me. Teddy. I'm right here. Breathe" she slowly placed a hand upon his arm. "Another bad dream?"

"Yeah. Another one" replied Owen, still breathing heavily.

Teddy looked at him sympathetically knowing the only thing she could do was let him calm down at his own pace. "The hospital's paging you. 911. Something about an accident involving traffic pile ups."

Owen sighed as he bent down to retrieve his pager. "I'm sorry, Teddy. About the whole knocking the pager out of your hand incident. I had a – "

"Bad dream" finished Teddy.

"I'm sorry, Teddy."

An awkward silence fell upon them.

"Well um, I'll let you get back to sleep then. I have to go."

"I love you."

"Love you too" repeated Owen as he left the room.

He walked at a brisk pace towards the ER, deep in thought. The bad dreams hadn't gone away with Cristina. Instead, they had worsened. He now dreamed about Cristina, not Steve, dying from the roadside explosion, her neck gushing out blood thick and fast. He pushed the thought away.

How was Cristina now? Was she happy? No, stop thinking about her, Owen thought to himself.

Yet his mind drifted back to the time when he had found out that she left.

* * *

_Flashback_

_She was late. He paged her for the third time that morning. Still no response. His mind ran over what had happened a few days ago. Didn't they agree at least be professional at work? She assigned to his service today, so where the hell was she?_

_Alex interrupted his thoughts. "Dr. Hunt? There's a trauma coming in. Something about fishing boat accident arriving in about ten minutes. Should we go wait in the trauma bay?"_

"_What? I thought Cris- Dr. Yang was assigned to my service today."_

_Alex avoided the searching look, instead he played with the lining on his scrubs. "I think Yang got reassigned."_

_Although Owen didn't quite believe him, he remained silent as they moved at a brisk pace towards the trauma bay._

_Throughout the day, his desperation grew. Why was she avoiding him damnit? He spotted one of Cristina's interns._

"_Dr. Grey, would you be able to inform me on the whereabouts of your resident?"_

"Um, _Dr. Karev? I thought he was assigned to trauma with you today." A puzzled expression crossed her face._

"_No, I meant Dr. Yang. Your resident."_

"_Oh, I've been reassigned again. You know, since Dr. Yang left, us interns have been-" she broke off after noticing the stormy look on Owen's face. "Actually, I think I have a patient… who needs some urgent treatment so uh, I think I better get going" blurted Lexie as she scurried off._

_She left. The words were still ringing in his ears. No. It couldn't be true. Cristina wouldn't just leave. She wouldn't leave without saying goodbye first._

_He was still in shock when he nearly collided with Meredith in the OR hallway._

"_Dr. Grey."_

"_Dr Hunt." She looked at him with cold indifference as she tried to push past him._

_He reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. "Have you seen Cris-Dr. Yang?" He still wasn't use to calling Cristina 'Dr. Yang"._

_Meredith's expression did not change, those cold emerald green eyes continued staring at him with contempt. "She's not here."_

"_No, she has to be. She can't have just left" desperation filled his voice._

"_Where my person is shouldn't concern you. In fact, you shouldn't even care. You lost the right to care about her when you chose your best friend over her. You can't care anymore." Her eyes softened at the hurt growing on his face, but her tone remained the same as she confirmed his greatest fear. "She's gone, Owen" Without sparing him another look, she pulled her arm from his weakened grasp and walked away._

_It was then that Owen experienced an abyss of emptiness growing inside him. He felt so hollow and drained. He couldn't remember how long he stood there for, with pain and feelings of desolation swirling around him. Cristina was gone._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

He shuddered slightly at this memory. The feeling of emptiness never went away, he instead had tried to bury it under long hours of surgery, sleep_and Teddy_. Although he "loved" Teddy, it was only after Cristina had left that he realized that his feelings for Teddy was nothing compared to what he felt for Cristina, but it was too late now. His body gave off another barely noticeable shudder as pain rippled through him yet again. He had to stop thinking about her. He couldn't think about her anymore. He had Teddy. But he knew that wasn't enough.

A peal of laughter cut off his train of thoughts. He froze. It sounded so familiar. It sounded like, Cristina.

He looked around, but was unable to locate the source. No, it couldn't be, he convinced himself. She wouldn't come back here, after all that he had done to her. To her, this hospital was filled with memories of hurt and pain. But he was so sure he had heard the laughter before. He brushed off this thought as he entered the elevator heading down to the Pit.

Little did he know, had he stood there for another five seconds, he would have received the shock of his life as it turned the corner.

* * *

Tears of laughter streamed down both Cristina's face as she and Meredith rounded the corner. "And the funniest thing was, he actually thought Lexie was pregnant!" finished Meredith, almost out of breath.

Cristina wiped away her tears of laughter, still chuckling at Lexie and Mark's misfortune.


	3. Chapter 3: Hallucinations

Cristina tried to ignore the whispers followed them as they walked towards the Chief's office.

"Is that Cristina Yang? The cardio-crazed resident who left two years ago after Hunt decided he wanted to screw Altman instead?"

"What's she doing here?"

"Look who's gracing us with their presence? I guess she still remembers us even now after she's become all big and famous."

She bit back the many retorts threatening to burst from her. Meredith seemed to read her mind "Ignore them, Cristina. They're just gossip-hungry nurses and interns" she said as she shot them a dirty look.

"What? Isn't your McGossip enough for them?" teased Cristina.

They quickened their pace as Cristina tried to ignore the incredulous looks coming at her from all directions. Finally, Richard Webber's office came into view.

"Um Mer, are you sure he's going to be in here?" Cristina questioned nervously.

"Ever since our ranking dropped from second to twelfth, the Chief has basically lived in this office" Meredith replied as she pushed the door open cautiously.

Sure enough, lying on the tiny red two-seater sofa in the most uncomfortable of positions was Chief Webber himself.

"Well isn't this perfect" remarked Cristina sarcastically as they watched the Chief of Surgery sleep; neither of them knowing what to do.

"Chief?" Meredith placed her hand lightly on his arm.

He awoke with a start. "What's the emergency?" Then he spotted Cristina. "Dr. Yang! Welcome back to Seattle Grace Hospital." a smile broke out across his face as he reached out and shook her hand. "Harper Avery mentioned that you would be coming today. Although I hadn't anticipated such an early arrival." Glancing at the clock, it read _5:14 am_.

"I was just a bit eager" lied Cristina. The real reason that Cristina had decided to arrive early was to minimize the possibility of seeing Owen.

"Where's Dr. Avery? I heard you two have grown quite close. Is he assisting you on this case?" questioned Richard.

"Jackson's sleeping right now. I think the plane trip wore him out."

"Oh. Well, Harper Avery will be here at 10am or so to brief you about the case. In the meantime, you are welcome to use the on-call rooms if you're tired. Here's a list of the residents that you can pick to assist you in surgery" he said as he handed over a stack of paper. "And Meredith will find you a pair of attending scrubs."

As she and Meredith were about to leave, Richard put out a hand to stop them. "Dr. Yang, I've recently lost a cardiothoracic attending to Mass Gen. I've looked at your records and achievements over the past two years and they're flawless. You don't seem to have found a place to settle down yet. How would you like a job, Dr. Yang?"

"With all due respect, Sir, I've already been offered countless numbers of positions as Head of Cardio, not just as an attending, at numerous hospitals across the country. I'd rather-"

"I'm not just offering you a position as just a cardiothoracic attending, Dr. Yang. I'm offering you a position as the Head of Cardio." Noting the questioning look on her face, he added "Dr. Altman does a fine job as the Head of Cardio, but she's barely published any papers or trials. And after such a large drop in our rankings, I've decided that Seattle Grace needs someone who is widely renowned. Someone that patients will travel across the country, maybe even from other countries just to receive treatment from. I understand if you need time to think it over, but consider it wisely" as he opened the door for them, signaling the conversation was over.

* * *

She had left Meredith with McDreamy back at the hospital before she headed back to her apartment with the stack of paper and two pairs of dark blue scrubs. She was still deep in thought; Teddy was still working at Seattle Grace. Did that mean Owen would still be there? Were they still together?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise coming from the sofa as she entered her apartment. After realizing the noise came from Jackson, she began to laugh.

"What? What's the time? And what's so funny?" Jackson sat up groggily.

"You- hahaha. You snore. Hahahaha." She barely managed to finish her sentence before bursting into laughter again.

Jackson looked sheepish. "It's not that funny, Yang." Cristina kept laughing. "What's the stack in your hands? And are one of those mine?" he pointed to the dark blue pair of scrubs, attempting to steer the conversation in a less embarrassing direction.

Cristina wiped away her tears of laughter before handing him the stack of paper. "I got these from Webber just then. They're the names and achievements of the residents who want to scrub in for the removal of the cardiac lymphoma. And Mer managed to find us some scrubs." She chucked the larger pair at him. "Avery Senior will be there to give us the patient's chart, labs and scans in the Lobby at 10." She neglected to mention the offer that Richard had made her. Instead she moved to pick up and unpack her suitcases.

Jackson stopped her. "There's something you're not telling me, Yang. We've gotten pretty close over the last two years so I can tell when you're not telling me something." He peered curiously at her.

There was no point hiding it. "Webber offered me a job as the Head of Cardio here. It's a nothing. A stupid nothing. But I don't know if I'm going to take it because-" she broke off.

"Because you haven't heard anything about Hunt yet" finished Jackson. He rolled his eyes. She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off before she could say anything. "I'm just saying, maybe you should consider thinking about what you want, not just about what's best for you. I'm tired of moving around from hospital to hospital." He paused. "You're already famous after all those clinical trials and after all those surgeries you pulled off. You need to start thinking about settling down somewhere. You've turned down basically every offer that numerous hospitals have made you and now Webber's offering you Head of Cardio here. I'm not saying you should just take it without any second thoughts, I'm saying maybe you should think about everything first before deciding" he concluded, picking up the stack of paper and scanning through them intently.

His words gave Cristina a lot to digest. Most of it was true; they had moved from hospital to hospital, following all the complicated and kick-ass surgeries from all across the country that were offered to them by Avery Senior. She had been fairly selfish. Maybe it was time to find somewhere and settle down. Seattle would be the perfect choice. She had a decent job offer here, an apartment close to the hospital and friends. Plus, Avery liked it here. The only thing that stopped her from accepting the job on the spot was Owen. She still hadn't moved on. There had been many gentlemen and suitors that came into her life in the space of two years, but none could fill the space that was left by Owen.

'Damnit, I hate men and men are stupid,' she thought as she joined Avery in examining the many pages of paper.

* * *

It had been a rough morning for Owen. One of his patients was DOA (dead on arrival) whilst the other one coded on the way to the OR and was unable to be revived. Since then, the ER had been fairly quiet; some minor cuts, a fractured skull and a few broken bones which Callie took care of. He didn't want to return to the on-call room where Teddy was probably still sleeping. He wasn't tired and he wanted to avoid the awkwardness which was to come after another bad-dream incident, so he had resorted to charting at the nurses' station. Cristina was on his mind more often than usual now. About a year ago, he saw her picture in one of the medical cardiothoracic magazines that Teddy was reading. Her smile looked radiant and stunning in the photo, although Owen noticed, it didn't quite reach her eyes which had lost their usual warmth. Instead, they looked empty and emotionless. She had lost weight; her cheekbones had become more prominent. He wondered where she was now.

"Owen! There you are!" Teddy's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She handed him a cup of coffee which he sipped cautiously. It was a mocha latte from café in the lobby. He hated mocha lattes. The only kind of coffee he liked was an espresso with no sugar from the stall set up just outside the entrance of the hospital. Teddy never remembered this, but Owen kept his silence.

"So." Teddy searched for a topic to talk about. "There's a famous cardio surgeon coming to Seattle Grace today. Webber didn't exactly give me many details, but apparently the surgeon is one of the best in the world." Owen remained unresponsive. "They're dissecting a cardiac lymphoma today and I'm assisting. I've never seen the procedure before, let alone done one." Still no response. She tried again; "Maybe you should come. It'll mean a lot to me."

"Okay" came Owen's short answer.

"Anyway, it's been a really weird morning for me-"

"Look Teddy. I'm sorry. I'll sleep somewhere else if you don't feel saf-"

"I'm not talking about what happened today." Teddy was starting to get annoyed; she was trying so hard, but Owen wasn't putting in any effort at all.

"Then what are you talking about?"

She tried to hide the frustration in her voice. "People have been staring and whispering everywhere I go. It's really unnerving and-" There was no change in Owen's expression which pushed Teddy over the edge. "And maybe you would have worked it out if you weren't acting so negative today!" she yelled as she stormed off, ignoring the curious looks from a group of interns standing nearby.

"Teddy!" Owen called after her, but she kept walking.

My morning just gets better and better, Owen thought sarcastically. He dumped the mocha latte into one of the nearby bins and headed off to the ER.

* * *

"Cristina! Jackson!" Harper Avery's voice rang from the other side of the lobby. "How are my two favourite pupils?" he said as they drew closer.

"Dr. Avery, it's good to see you again" came Cristina's polite response.

"So you have the files for the cardio case?" asked Jackson.

"He's always been an impatient one" chuckled Harper Avery which made Jackson scowl. "Yes, I have them here." He handed over a thick file. "The patient's name is Sarah Blakes. She's 28 which makes this case extremely rare as she is the first patient under the age of 60 to have a cardiac lymphoma. It is wrapped around the coronary artery and it occupies about a quarter of the right atrium. This is without a doubt that most difficult cardiothoracic case I have ever seen. The Heads of the hospitals from all around the globe will be watching this case closely. If you succeed in removing this lymphoma without causing severe damage to the patient's heart, all the doors you wish to enter will be open" he finished his speech with a glint in his eyes. "I hope you won't disappoint."

"No, Sir" promised Cristina.

"When did we ever disappoint, Grandpa?"

"Well, good luck to you both. Unfortunately, I have a plane to catch. Jackson, I expect a phone call immediately after the surgery informing me of the outcome. Good luck again, Dr. Yang" and with that he left.

"Wow, Avery Senior sure knows how to give a speech" remarked Cristina.

"Yeah, well this is how he practices for those long winded speeches he gives at the Harper Avery award ceremony" joked Avery.

"Let's get going. I want to get started on this as soon as possible." The sooner we get started, the sooner we can leave, thought Cristina. They headed at a brisk pace towards the elevators.

Just as the doors were closing, Cristina looked up and swore she saw a flash of red hair enter the hospital. But then the doors closed and it was gone.

* * *

After another one of Owen's patient was DOA (dead on arrival), Owen had sat outside the hospital bitterly reflecting upon the events his morning when he was paged yet again to the Pit. This better be good, he thought as he headed back into the hospital. It was then that he received the shock of his life.

Standing in the elevator was Cristina Yang. He stood there unable to move. Shock had glued his feet to the ground. The elevator doors shut, and she was gone.


	4. Chapter 4: Electrifying

They briefed the patient and her family on the risks of the surgery.

"Although this is an extremely high risk surgery, I strongly recommend it as this is your only shot at survival" finished Cristina.

"So there's definitely no other option for my daughter?" asked Sarah's father.

"Unfortunately not."

Right at that moment, Teddy burst into the room, slightly out of breath. "Sorry I'm late. I had a consult down in the Pit. What did I miss?" she panted.

"Dr. Altman?" Surprise was evident in Cristina's voice.

Teddy looked up. Standing around the patient's bed was Chief Webber, Lexie Grey, Alex Karev, Jackson Avery and _Cristina Yang_. Instinctively, she stepped back in shock. "Cristina?" Both women stared in shock awkwardly at each other as Jackson, Sarah and her family watched on. Teddy opened her mouth, but her mind couldn't formulate proper sentences. "What. You're here? What-" came her incomplete and garbled questions.

Regaining her composure, Cristina replied as calmly as she could "I'm here to remove a cardiac lymphoma. This is the patient, Sarah Blakes" gesturing slightly to the patient who smiled politely at Teddy.

Shock was still etched across Teddy's face, but her eyes did not leave Cristina as she replied "Oh, so you're the world-class cardiothoracic surgeon that will be performing today's surgery-?" The doubt and surprise that filled Teddy's voice earned her a disapproving look from Chief Webber and an annoyed look from Cristina.

Jackson cut across her. "Actually, Dr. Yang is one of the best cardio surgeons in the world and she has flown across the country just to perform this procedure. We were just briefing the patient and informing them about the risks of the surgery before you arrived" he said pointedly.

"Oh. Sorry about the interruption. Please continue where you left off" came Teddy's mumbled apology.

"As I was saying, there is no other option but this surgery if your daughter wishes to fight this disease. If you don't have any more questions, I'll have Dr. Grey and Dr. Karev prep your daughter for surgery while you sign these forms." Cristina handed the patient's father a stack of forms. "See you in surgery, Ms. Blakes" she said as she motioned for Jackson, Teddy and the Chief to follow her.

As soon as they were outside, Teddy pelted Cristina with questions. "So you're definitely the surgeon that will be performing the lymphoma removal on the patient? Are you sure you're capable? Although you're extremely talented, two years ago you were just a third-year resident." An incredulous look appeared on her face.

"That's enough, Dr. Altman" warned Richard.

"I've performed dozens of very high risk surgeries with an extremely low-mortality rate. I've practiced at some of the best hospitals under the world's best surgeons and I've learnt a great deal under some of the best surgeons in the world. So yes, I am capable of performing this surgery successfully. A lot can change in two years" she replied coldly.

"Yeah, it can." Her eyes flashed as she matched Cristina's tone. Pain flickered across Cristina's face as her mind jumped immediately to Owen.

The Chief cleared his throat. "Unfortunately I have a board meeting now. Dr. Altman will help you if you need anything" he said pointedly. And with that he left.

Cristina turned to leave too.

"I'm sorry, Cristina." Teddy's tone had softened. "I've just had a really rough morning. Then you just suddenly turn up. So I really don't know what to do right now."

Cristina's expression softened at this confession. "It's okay, Teddy. I'm not here for Owe- for him. I'm just here to save Sarah's life." Teddy's eyes looked at Cristina with unasked questions. "I haven't seen him yet, but I take it that you two are still together?" Teddy nodded. "That's good" Cristina said emotionlessly.

"Thank you. I'll see you later in the OR?"

"Yeah, see you later" replied Cristina as she left with Jackson to re-examine the Sarah's latest scans.

* * *

The elevator doors had shut. Just like that. He didn't get a proper look of her before the doors had closed. In fact, he was starting to doubt that he had even seen her at all. People hallucinate when they're stressed, he tried to convince himself. Plus, she had no reason to come back. Unless…

His next thought, as ridiculous as it was, ignited a warm feeling in his chest. _She had no reason to come back unless she still loved him. _

The warmth in his chest left just as quickly as it as arrived. No, she wouldn't come back. The image of hurt spreading across her face when he told her he chose Teddy was one he would never forget. But yet, the woman in the elevator had bore great resemblance to Cristina. His pager interrupted his thoughts for the second time that day. _Cardio Wing – Teddy Altman._ What now, he thought as he headed off to the elevator.

"Owen!" Teddy hurried to his side. "I know I asked you to come to watch the cardiac lymphoma surgery, but I changed my mind." She continued talking, ignoring his questioning look. "Actually, I'd rather you stay in the Pit instead and I'll tell you about the surgery afterwards."

"What? Why? I thought you said this surgery meant a lot to you."

"It does mean a lot. I- I realized that you being up there, watching me probably isn't the best idea. I'm actually feeling pretty nervous" Teddy lied.

Owen looked at her disbelievingly. She never had a problem with him watching her from the OR gallery. "Okay then" he agreed reluctantly.

Relieved, she reached up and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Thank you" she said as she left for the OR. He didn't feel the usual tingling sensation that Teddy's kisses use to leave him with. In fact, he hadn't felt it for a while now. He missed Cristina.

* * *

"Ready to rock this surgery, Yang?" Avery's voice cut across Cristina's thoughts as they were scrubbing in.

"Don't I usually rock my surgeries, Avery?" she retorted.

"But you don't usually have all of the famous cardio surgeons around the world closely watching the same surgery. Your surgery" Jackson said. "No pressure of course" he teased after seeing the look on Cristina's face. "Just kidding, Cristina. You're going to rock this surgery." He raised a fist up for Cristina to bump. This was their traditional way of wishing each other good luck.

"Yeah" said Cristina as she bumped her fist against his. "Let's rock this surgery" she said as she tried to gather her thoughts which she found straying towards Owen yet again.

Teddy was already waiting inside with Lexie and Alex who had been chosen from a long list of residents who wanted to scrub in on this surgery. Her eyes scanned the OR gallery. Chief Webber, McDreamy, McSteamy, Meredith, and Izzie occupied the front row with a few familiar faces seated in the rows behind. No sign of the vibrant red hair. She felt relieved, yet disappointed. She had been foolish to assume that he would be sitting up there watching her surgery.

She addressed the OR and the gallery's occupants. "Good morning, everyone. I'm Dr. Cristina Yang and today I will be performing a cardiac lymphoma removal to save Sarah Blakes' life. Bokey, Penfold Four please." She reached for the scalpel waiting in the nurse's outstretched hand. The entire OR and the gallery held their breaths as she made the first cut.

* * *

_-An hour into the surgery- _

So far so good, Cristina thought as she sliced carefully through the thin wall of the right atrium, revealing the lymphoma, lying in the middle of a tangle of coronary veins. A murmur was heard in the gallery. No one had seen a lymphoma that had entangled itself so deeply in a person's heart before. "Lancet blade please" requested Cristina.

"Don't you mean Arachnawood knife, Cris- Dr. Yang? The LAN method recommends using an Arachnawood knife to dissect that lymphoma roots from the tip of the coronary arteries up through to the end. What method are you using?" challenged Teddy. A murmur began in the crowd in the OR gallery.

"Lancet blade please" repeated Cristina. "The LAN method only has a 73% success rate of dissecting the lymphoma completely from the arteries; 23% luck and 50% skill. The Arachnawood knife unlike the Lancet knife, does not provide the maneuverability that I need to dissect this one" responded coldly Cristina as she reached for the blade.

"But what method are you using?" persisted Teddy.

Cristina paused and grinned under her surgical mask. "I call it, the Yang method." This left Teddy speechless. The murmur grew louder. No one had ever felt this kind of static before. The feeling of trying and creating something new was electrifying.

Cristina worked for hours, slowly and carefully removing the lymphoma. Lost in deep concentration, she didn't notice Owen slip into the OR gallery. It had been a slow day at the Pit. And from what he had heard, half the hospital was squashed into a tiny OR gallery, observing a world-first medical procedure.

"Hunt!" Mark's voice rang across the crowded gallery. "I got paged and I'm just about to leave. You can take my seat" he said as he moved towards the door.

Owen nodded his thanks at Mark as he sat down between Derek and the Chief. Teddy seemed to be doing alright. He gasped sharply when he saw the woman next to Teddy in the OR below him. Cristina. Was he hallucinating? He could have recognized her anywhere. Even under the mask, scrub cap and the light blue surgical gown that hung off her thin, petite frame. Her neck. The neck he had caressed and kissed a thousand times was now just a few metres below him. He stared at it with such intensity. Was he daydreaming? This couldn't be real.

Making the final cut, she successfully removed the lymphoma from the tangle of coronary arteries and from the inside layer of the right atrium. The occupants in the OR and the gallery broke into applause. She had just made medical history. "Thank you everyone for your hard work today. I hope that I've shown you, that_ nothing is impossible_." After exchanging a glorious look with Jackson, her eyes scanned the OR gallery. Meredith and Izzie smiled at her and looked like they were about to burst with pride. McDreamy just looked as dreamy as ever, although he did looked slightly impressed. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes rest on the occupant of the next seat. Surprised brown chocolate eyes met an intense start from electric blue ones. She breathed sharply. Jackson noticed and followed her gaze. His mouth dropped openly slightly, but regained his composure as he nudged Cristina.

"Let's go, Yang. We've got a phone call to make, and probably even more to answer."

She dragged her eyes from the intense stare radiating from the OR gallery."Yeah, okay" she said as she allowed herself to be led from the OR.

Owen was frozen to his seat. Her eyes. Cristina's eyes. It had to be her. His gaze followed her as she and a male surgeon left the OR. He now had one sole objective; to catch up with this woman and discover her true identity which he hoped would keep alight the warm feeling in his chest. It seemed that everyone else in the OR gallery seemed to share his objective as they filed out rapidly in hope of being able to exchange a few words with the surgeon who had just created medical history.


	5. Chapter 5: Hypnotic

After leaving the OR, Cristina had decided to seek out Sarah's parents to inform them about the successful outcome of the procedure. Teddy had disappeared almost immediately after the surgery, presumably to find Owen, so Cristina had left it up to Jackson to call Avery Senior and notify him of their success. She preferred not to have to endure another one of his long-winded speeches about 'the doors of her future being opened'. She decided to make a detour through the Oncology Wing to avoid the large swarms of people wanting to talk to her.

Damnit, thought Owen as he tried to push pass the mass of people, trying to find his way through the gridlocked exit. When he had finally managed to make it out, _the woman_ was no where to be seen.

"The lymphoma seemed to have penetrated much deeper into the right atrium than indicated by the scans which proved to be a difficult unseen complication." After noting the worried looks on the Blakes family's faces she added quickly, "But I was able to successfully remove the lymphoma without causing _any_ permanent damage to your daughter's heart. Bed rest is recommended for the next 8 to 10 weeks as heart surgery tends to take a lot out of a patient, but Sarah will be fine. You'll be able to talk to her as soon as the anesthesia wears off. "

"Thank you so much," sobbed the patient's mother as she embraced Dr. Yang.

"Um, it's okay…" said Cristina awkwardly as she looked for a way to politely pry the woman off her. "If you have anymore questions, you can ask them when Dr. Altman drops by in about an hour's time to check on Sarah. Unfortunately, I have another patient to see now" she lied as she made a speedy exit for the door.

* * *

"How'd it go with the old man?" Cristina asked as she entered the conference room where Jackson had just finished calling Avery Senior.

"He gave me the full thing. Like the entire speech about a brilliant future and awards being named after you. I can't believe you made me go through that" sighed Jackson.

"Well, I had to inform the parents about the condition of their daughter since they were pretty worried" reasoned Cristina.

"Whatever" he teased. "Oh, Grandpa mentioned something about preparing ourselves."

"For what?" Cristina questioned.

"C'mon Yang. You just made medical history. Something about a Yang method" he joked.

"She was questioning me in my own OR!"

"No need to get defensive, I was just kidding. I guess she's just not use to having her students becoming better than her. Anyway, I was tipped off that the Chief of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital will be visiting Seattle Grace in a day or two to present an offer too good to be turned down."

"No freakin' way." She looked stunned.

"Yes freakin' way. Congrats Cristina. I guess the whole 'all the doors of your future' thing that Grandpa always says is true after all." He paused. "Hm, Cristina Yang, Head of Cardio at the best and busiest hospital in the world. Sounds catchy doesn't it?"

"Yeah" Cristina subconsciously replied, lost in her own world of thoughts.

Jackson whistled. "Look, you've already got your own fan club" he said as he gestured towards the door. Sure enough, gathered outside was a group of interns peering nervously through the window into the room.

"Crap. What do I do?"

Jackson seemed to be enjoying himself. "Maybe you should talk to them. And teach them the Yang Method" he joked.

"Not funny. I don't want to talk to interns. Or anyone else."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself. Oh, and Webber asked if you wanted to perform a simple aorta repair in two hours. You in?"

"Would I ever turn down a surgery?" It was Cristina's turn to roll her eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes; you're in. OR Four at 7pm."

"Yeah. See you there" Cristina replied as she walked out at a brisk pace, avoiding the people around her.

There was so much happening in her life. Things that had the potential to change her career-orientated life. She felt like she needed somewhere she could breathe freely and absorb everything that had happened. The boiler room. It was ideal. The vent always chased away the clouds of doubt and confusion that hung over her. Plus no one else knew it even existed. _No one except Owen_. Damnit, why does he always complicate everything, she thought. Screw it. She decided to take the risk. She cautiously checked that no one was looking as she slipped through the doors that led to the vent. She slowly opened the door.

Standing there, in front of her, was none other than Owen Hunt.

Thankfully he was facing the other direction as she opened the door. Too absorbed in his own thoughts, he had failed to hear the door click open. Cristina froze there, unsure of what to do. She could have slipped away without him noticing her, yet something within her prevented her from doing so.

Footsteps broke her away from the spell that held her there. Instinctively, she ducked inside the room behind a tangle of machinery, which hid her from not only the footsteps, but also from Owen. The door to the boiler room opened. Cristina peered out cautiously from her hiding spot. In the doorway stood Teddy Altman.

Hurt and betrayal welled up within Cristina. This place had been her and Owen's place. Their place. Now, it had become Owen and Teddy's place. Sobs threatened to bubble out from her chest. It took all her willpower to stop herself from making a sound.

"Owen." Teddy's voice brought Owen back from his world of thoughts. "I went down to the Pit to find you, but the nurses told me you went to watch the lymphoma surgery instead."

"Yeah, I did."

"And you've heard about…" Teddy trailed off.

"So it's true? Cristina was the cardio surgeon in that OR today?" he questioned, looking Teddy straight in the eye.

"It's true." Owen turned slowly back to face the wall again. "Owen, I had no idea she was coming. Cristina coming back shouldn't have to affect us. We've come so far in the last two years. You made your choice remember?" she tried to make him look at her.

He avoided her gaze. "I remember." He sighed. "It's just, she left so suddenly. She didn't even say goodbye. It was like, she was here one minute, then gone the next. I didn't want to hurt you. And I didn't want to hurt her, Teddy. But I did. And now, I'm hurting you, too."

"We've come so far, Owen. A lot can happen in two years," she repeated as she tried again to make eye contact with him.

"I know. But how do I know I've made the right choice?" persisted Owen.

Teddy paused. "You just follow your gut." She hugged him gently before she left to let him mull everything over. Little did she know, Cristina Yang had just effectively heard every word that was exchanged.

Cristina had heard enough. She decided to sneak out from her hiding spot towards the door. She froze when she heard Owen's sharp intake of breath. He had turned around just in time to see her grab the handle of the door.

"Cristina" it sounded more like a question than a statement.

She turned around slowly. "Owen."

"You're back." He sounded as if he still didn't quite believe it.

"Yes."

"How did- What are you doing here?" he stuttered as a list of questions began to pile up in his mind.

"I wanted to escape from everything for a while. I needed time to think over some things. And then I saw you in here so was I going to leave, but Teddy came in. So uh, I think I'll leave now" she said quickly as she tried to make a quick escape to the door.

He was beside her in two strides, grabbing her arm, holding onto her, preventing her from leaving. "No. Stay" Owen said quietly, not loosening his hold on her arm. "Don't leave."

Harsh responses sprang to her mind but she refrained from saying them. "Okay then" she responded softly.

"I can't believe you're here" he said quietly, still gripping her arm.

"Neither can I" responded Cristina a little too sarcastically.

"You left. You didn't even say goodbye. I deserved more than that, Cristina." His intense blue eyes gazed intently into her chocolate brown ones.

Anger rose inside Cristina. He had no right to blame her for leaving without a word. He was the reason she had left. "You do not get to blame this on me, Owen. You made it clear. You chose Teddy."

"That doesn't mean that I don't care about you!" he half-yelled.

"Well caring isn't exactly _professional_" retorted Cristina. She instantly regretted her words as hurt spread across his face, but her tone did not change. "What else was I supposed to do, Owen? Stay around and watch you two for the rest of my life? Life goes on. I moved on, Owen," she said as she tried to pull her arm from his strong grip. Instead of letting her go, he instinctively pulled her closer, his face just inches away from hers.

Cristina found herself hypnotized by those startling blue eyes. Before she knew it, his soft lips brushed gently against hers, capturing them between his, savoring them for the first time in two years.


	6. Chapter 6: Recollections

_Cristina found herself hypnotized by those startling blue eyes. Before she knew it, his soft lips brushed gently against hers, capturing them between his, savoring them for the first time in two years._

As their lips met, Cristina found herself melting into Owen's strong yet gentle arms. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt alive for the first time in two years. As they both broke apart slightly, air rushed back into their lungs. Cristina came back to her senses just as their mouths met again and with an incredible amount of self-restraint; she pulled away just as Owen angled his head to deepen their kiss. Owen's mouth moved forward, frantically chasing her lips, caught unprepared so the sudden loss of physical contact with her. His eyes fluttered opened as silence fell upon them.

A pause.

"Cristina…" came Owen's soft voice.

"I really need to go" she said struggled to squirmed out of Owen's well-muscled biceps.

"Please. We need to talk." whispered Owen in a tortured voice, countering her attempts to remove herself from his arms.

"I can't, Owen. You have Teddy now. I moved on," she replied firmly as she carefully extracted herself from the weakening grip around her. "I moved on," repeated Cristina as she left quietly. She hadn't moved on. The words 'take care now' were left unspoken in her mind.

And again, he just watched her leave as the words '_I moved on_' echoed in his head.

The warm glow within Owen diminished as cold air replaced the space in between his arms where Cristina had been seconds ago. A feeling of emptiness grew within him again. His mind returned to the time when he had kissed her outside of Emerald City bar after losing a patient.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Hey." His arm jerked back instinctively at the light touch he felt on his shoulder as he turned around and found himself face-to-face with Cristina Yang. "I'm sorry; we lost him, the patient. I'm sorry-" _

_He cut her off. "I don't need you to be sorry," he said almost harshly. _

"_Okay," came her slightly surprised response._

"_I don't need you to be sorry. I don't need you. I don't need you." He found himself moving forward with each word with Cristina was backed up against the wall, her petite face just inches away from his. Warm brown eyes met electric blue ones. Suddenly conscious of the lack of distance between them, he lunged towards her, capturing her soft and inviting lips hungrily in his. Cristina did not kiss him back nor did she resist his kiss. _

_Then she found herself melting in his arms as she instinctively reached up and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her, trying to close the near non-existent distance between them. He responded by deepening his grip on her wild curls. Their tongues intertwined before his tongue eagerly explored the inside of her mouth. _

_Then, they broke off, their faces just inches away, both gasping for air like fish on dry land. The air that rushed back into their lungs brought them back to reality. Cristina's chocolate eyes searched Owen's cerulean colored eyes for answers only to find them filled with questions too._

_He stepped back slowly as he loosened his grip on her ebony curls, his eyes watching her face unsurely, as if waiting for her to respond._

_She broke off from his searching gaze as she stepped out of the space, severing the connection they had just moments ago, her heart pounding in her chest, walking away from him without a word._

_He felt the cold air rush up into the space that was occupied by Cristina just seconds ago as emptiness began to fill him._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

His mind was racing. He'd let her walk away. Just like that. Just like he had two years ago. He knew now that he was no good for her; she had become a world-class cardiothoracic surgeon without him dragging her down, he thought bitterly. And now, she was at the peak of her career as a surgeon, all he could do was bring her down. Yet, he wanted so badly just to talk to her. Just an actual, proper conversation. He had ruined this possibility. Why did he kiss her, damnit? His pager went off. Another 911 in the Pit. He tried to push Cristina out of his mind as he hurried down to the ER.

* * *

Inside the OR Four scrub room , Jackson checked the time nervously. Cristina was late. He was beginning to worry. Yang was never late. On the contrary, she was always early as to her; being early is being on time, and being on time is being late. Just as this thought crossed his mind, Cristina burst into the scrub room, breathing heavily.

"You're late, Yang. I thought I was going to have to scrub in without you," remarked Jackson as Cristina arrived at the scrub room, still slightly out of breath.

"Well, I'd like to see you try avoiding a large group of interns running at you," she retorted.

A pause.

Jackson examined her face closely. "There's something you're not telling me, Yang."

"Uh, no there isn't," lied Cristina, trying to keep her expression as normal as possible.

"You look emotionless right now. Something's happened. And you're not telling me about it. We've spent two years together. And I'm going to find out sooner or later so you might as well just tell me now" he persisted, pleading with those piercing green eyes.

"Fine, maybe later" replied Cristina as a nurse entered the scrub room.

* * *

Two hours later, Cristina walked out of the scrub having successfully repaired the damaged aorta.

"Ah, Dr. Yang." Richard Webber's voice came from behind her as Cristina left the scrub room. "The Chief of Surgery from Seattle Presbyterian, Dr. Rayler, is here and he wants to talk to you. I think he's waiting near the nurses' station" he continued in a disgruntled tone.

A look of surprise crossed Cristina's face. "Oh, okay." What would the Chief of Surgery from Seattle Presbyterian want to see me for, she thought.

At the nurses' station, Rayler was waiting, surrounded by a large group of interested by-standers.

"Dr. Yang, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." He reached out to shake Cristina's hand. "As you know, I've heard a lot about you from Harper Avery. And I'm to understand that you successfully performed a world-first lymphoma removal on a twenty-eight year old patient?" he questioned.

"Yes, Sir" was her polite response.

"I know that many hospitals are hoping to-" she didn't hear the rest of whatever he had to say as suddenly something over Dr. Rayler's shoulder caught her eye; _Hunt - OR 3; 8pm-. _

Dr. Rayler's voice dragged her gaze away from the OR board before she had a chance to finish reading the OR board. "So, Dr. Yang?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" she replied, almost rudely.

"I said, I understand that many hospitals very much wish to own you. I myself would like to offer you a position as the Chief of our cardiothoracic department at Seattle Presbyterian." He repeated, slight irritation creeping into his voice.

"Actually, I'm still thinking over my options right now, Sir. But I will consider your offer" she smiled back as naturally as she could. A look of shock came over the Seattle Presbyterian's Chief of Surgery's face. No one had refused an offer like this before. "Thank you for the offer though," hinted Cristina.

Still in shock, he walked away with a dazed expression on his face.

"Wow, Yang." came Jackson's voice from somewhere beside her. She looked around, he was leaning casually against the nurses' station and his expression showed that he had just overheard the conversation. He was evidently not the only one; nurses and interns alike were whispering madly, shooting incredulous looks at Cristina.

"Shut up, Avery," muttered Cristina, her gaze drifting to the OR board again. A quick look won't hurt, she thought. She was greatly tempted since she hadn't seen Owen operate in over two years. She missed seeing those strong yet firm hands at work. From the OR gallery, she could watch those hands work like little geniuses and hopefully leave before the end of the procedure without attracting too much attention.

"Heading back to the apartment, Yang?" Jackson's voice cut across her thoughts again.

"Um, not yet. I was thinking of finding Meredith or Izzie for a girls' night out," she lied. "But if you want to leave first, here," she chucked her keys at him.

"Can do. See you late then," called out Jackson as he headed towards the elevator.

Glancing over her shoulder to check that Jackson was indeed gone, Cristina's eyes drifted to the OR board again. An expression of ambivalence appeared on her face.

Seconds later, she found herself darting down in OR hallway and into the near empty operating gallery of OR 3.

"Well, look who it is," came an unusually familiar sounding voice. Cristina turned around and found herself face to face with none other than Miranda Bailey.

"Hello, Dr. Bailey. A pleasure to see you as always," was Cristina's polite response. Two years away from Seattle had done nothing to ease her fear of the intimidating aura radiating from Dr. Bailey.

"Do I look like I enjoy having my ass kissed? Though it is good to know I haven't been totally forgotten, Yang," retorted Bailey. Seeing a slight look of hurt appearing on Cristina's face, she changed the topic, instead gesturing to the seat beside her, "Hunt's surgery is going to be a long one judging by the looks of it, so you might as well take a seat." Cristina sat down gratefully and keenly watched the surgery below.

Her mind flashed back to the time when she had laughed at his hands and called them 'hams'. Only now, after two and a bit years did she admire how steady and meticulous his movements were. All that had happened in the afternoon was forgotten. Now, all she saw was his hands.

* * *

Damnit, thought Owen as he tried again to remove the fourth bullet that was lodged in the lung of the patient. One wrong move and the bullet would slide further into the organ which would then make it almost impossible to remove.

Then, blood began to flow from the patient's heart and fill the inside cavity of the patient's body, threatening to flood the lung.

Owen tried frantically to locate the source of the bleeding. "Page Cardio; NOW!" he yelled as blood began to flow more freely from the patient's heart.

"Dr. Altman's still in surgery," replied one of the nurses.

"Page another doctor. Any doctor," came Owen's frantic response as he tried to stop the bleeding.

"Their department is understaffed and only Dr. Altman is on call right now," answered the nurse. "She won't be out of her surgery for another hour at least."

"This patient is bleeding out," was Owen's blunt reply as he tried futilely to find the tear in the patient's heart.

Cristina sat above in the OR gallery, her mind elsewhere as her chocolate eyes subconsciously watched Owen's vain attempts to ease the bleeding.

A voice cut across her thoughts. "What are you doing still sitting here, Yang? Get down there. Move," Bailey's voice was heard from beside Cristina as she watched the events unfold below.

"Sorry, what?" Cristina's voice was incredulous as she was dragged back to reality.

"There's a patient lying there, bleeding out on the table. And you're sitting here on your behind watching. Get down there," she repeated, lightly shoving Cristina towards the door.

Left with no choice, Cristina did as she was told and rushed down into the OR scrub room. Owen was still desperately trying to stop the patient from bleeding out, but the patient's pulse was weakening at a rapid rate. She paused there, standing at the sink, hesitant on entering, her mind running through everything that had happened that afternoon. Screw it, she thought as she scrubbed in at a record speed before barging into Owen's OR.


	7. Chapter 7: Detachment

Upon her arrival in the OR, the nurses busied themselves and quickly gowned and gloved Cristina. She looked up at the OR gallery and met Bailey's intense stare; it was too late to turn around now. Owen had managed to locate the source of the bleeding and was now trying to ease the flow singlehandedly. The intern who was meant to be assisting him stood uselessly beside him, merely watching his measured, fluid movements.

Deep in thought, Owen was trying to hold and stitch the tear with no avail when a familiar, yet professional voice came from somewhere beside him.

"Clamp the myogenic artery and suction away the blood to achieve a better visualization of the tear. Bokey, hang another bag of O-neg. The patient's already put out about 750ml of blood."

Owen looked up and froze. "Cristina." It sounded more of a question as opposed to a statement. Surprise had resulted in the loss of his ability to formulate longer sentences. For a moment, brown eyes met blue ones,

"Dr. Hunt" she acknowledged, avoiding his piercing stare. "Could you clamp and suction while I attempt to perform the repair?" she repeated in a professional and detached tone.

He obeyed her request without another word, his startled blue eyes occasionally drifted up to her face, as if they were checking that she was still there.

Forty minutes later, Cristina rechecked her stitches; they were flawless. The tear in the heart was now sewn up and the organ had suffered minimal damage. She was on the verge of leaving the OR when Owen's voice pulled her back.

"Wait, Dr. Yang, I think I may need an extra pair of hands to remove the rest of the bullets and to repair the GSWs. Could you possibly stay behind and assist?" he questioned cautiously.

Cristina was about to open her mouth and politely decline Owen's offer when she noticed Bailey's Nazi-like glare radiating from the OR gallery. As much as she wanted to leave the OR and avoid the awkwardness between herself and Owen, she had no desire to suffer the wrath of Bailey that would surely come upon her if she were to refuse. "Uh, of course," she replied unenthusiastically as she walked back towards the operating table.

She's so close yet so far, thought Owen as his gaze drifted up again to the seemingly emotionless petite face hidden behind the white surgical mask. Would now be a good time to start a conversation? A voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Can you hold this clamp in place while I stitch up the hole in the diaphragm?" asked Cristina, her eyes still staring fixedly at the insides of the patient. Her tone was professional and detached.

Wordlessly, he reached to over to replace her hold on the clamp. As he did so, his fingers lightly brushed against the back of her hands, her warmth could be felt even through the thick latex gloves. The brief contact left a tingling sensation that travelled like an electric current from the tips of his fingers right through to his toes. It reminded him of the warm glow he had experienced within him during their previous encounter in the afternoon on the vent. The attraction he felt towards her was like the attraction of two opposing poles of magnets in a strong magnetic field. He yearned to touch her again, just to soak up her warmth and reignite the warm glow that had dimmed within him. The line that separated right from wrong began to blur.

Snap out of it, he thought, as he found himself edging ever so slightly towards Cristina. He instead tried to concentrate on her hands that were so firm yet so gentle. Although he had already seen her operate earlier that day for the first time in two years, her flowing movements still captivated him. The memory of Isaac's inoperable tumour surgery from just over two years ago resurfaced in his mind. His smile was hidden behind his surgical mask as he remembered the time when she had bluntly referred to his hands as 'hams' and hers as 'little geniuses'.

* * *

_Flashback_

_He watched her quietly from the doorway, a smile lingering on his face. He watched as she tried again to carefully aim the pen at the note. She was standing too close to the nueroleicascope, her body angled awkwardly as she tried again to place the tip of the pen at a specific spot. Her persistence and patience were just another one of the many positive characteristics he loved so much about her._

"_You're doing it wrong," he said leaning casually against the doorway, trying to hide the affectionate smile that threatened to sneak across his face._

"_Uh, no I'm not," retorted Cristina._

"_Yes you are." Owen paused. "I could show you" he continued, smiling slightly._

"_You?" Her voice was incredulous. "Look at your hands. They're hams. Mine are tiny little geniuses," she retorted, wiggling her fingers at him._

"_It's not about the hands. It's about the body," he said as he moved slowly towards her, placing his hands on her hips, guiding them gently away from the nueroleicascope. "Tilt your head." He moved his hands up to rest briefly on her shoulders before moving onto the instrument. "Your eye level?" he asked, adjusting the lenses of the nueroleicascope gently._

"_Mhmmm," was Cristina's reply as she gazed through the lenses._

_He then moved his hands down her body so that his arms snaked themselves gently around her thin waist, pulling himself towards her. He breathed in her sweet scent before leaning forward and whispering in her ear "If you stand too close, you begin to thrive within yourself." Holding her in his strong yet gentle arms, he felt content as he watched her gingerly placed another dollar bill under the cup. He breathed her in again, her appealing fragrance intoxicating him as she again lightly tapped the surface of the dollar bill with tip of the pen._

_Pulling the pen back, she cautiously lifted the cup up; anxious of what lay under it. It was removed to reveal George Washington's nose obscured by a red dot which had resulted from Cristina's handling of the pen._

_Owen peered over her shoulder and murmured "Good. Go again," still holding her tenderly in his arms. Cristina being in his arms felt so right. They fitted together perfectly like two lost pieces of a puzzle being reunited. And he stood there, lost in the bliss of that perfect moment with Cristina in his arms._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

The memory had somewhat fueled the glow he felt once again warming up in his chest and his mind returned again to the present.

The view he had from the crowded OR gallery before was nothing compared to the view he had now, standing less than a meter away from her. This was simply breathtaking. Then, before he knew it, she had put down the needle and was again rechecking her flawless sutures.

Her voice interrupted the trail of thoughts running through his mind.

"I've repaired the tear in the diaphragm and extracted the bullet lodged in the patient's lung." Her chocolate eyes that had been carefully avoiding his cerulean ones throughout the surgery looked cautiously at him. "I'm about done so I'll uh leave you to finish up," she continued as her eyes drifted to something over his shoulder, again avoiding eye contact.

"Wait, Cristina." He hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether disclosing the next request in front of gossip-hungry nurses was wise. "Could we- could we at least talk later? Like get a drink or something?" His last sentence came out garbled as the feeling of desperation had gotten the better of him.

"Sorry, what?" was Cristina slightly shocked reply. He had no right to be asking that of her. And she had no intention of talking to him again before she left Seattle.

Owen opened his mouth to reply just as the OR doors opened and Teddy Altman appeared, slightly out of breath. Bailey leaned forward in her chair and watched on with a great deal of interest from the OR gallery.

"Sorry, I was in another surgery and there were many complications. You pag-" Teddy broke off suddenly as she began taking in her surroundings and those that were in it. The awkward tension that suddenly filled the room was so thick that one could have cut through it with a scalpel. The silence that was experienced throughout the room was deafening.

"Oh," was all that Teddy could muster; surprise had made her speechless. The sight of her boyfriend and her ex-student, who happened to be her current boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, standing less than a meter apart was more than she could digest right now. It was something she hadn't seen in over two years.

"Cris- Dr. Yang helped to repair the tear in the heart since the patient was bleeding out on the table and there were no other cardio surgeons available," explained Owen, his eyes drifting from Teddy to Cristina, monitoring her reaction.

"Uh, actually, I was just about to leave," said Cristina heading towards the door, trying to find an escape out of the awkward silence. She deposited her gloves and surgical mask into the nearest medical waste bin before exiting the scrub room. If she had looked behind her as she left the OR, she would have noticed a pair of broken blue eyes following her, begging her not to leave.

Owen wanted to reply and stop her except there was nothing he could do under Teddy's watchful gaze but watch her walk away again.

* * *

Cristina's mind was flooded with thoughts as she walked down the OR hallway. She almost collided into Meredith and Izzie whom were both dressed in civilian clothing.

"There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!" exclaimed Meredith.

A confused look spread across Cristina's face. "Uh why? It's like almost 10pm. Shouldn't you be at home with McDreamy and you with Evil Spawn?"

"We ran into Avery in the elevators and he mentioned something about a girls' night out," Meredith replied.

"Two hours ago as well," added Izzie.

"So you two are actually going to just give up your boy penises and get drunk with me?" snorted Cristina disbelievingly, slightly taken aback.

Izzie and Meredith exchanged awkward glances.

"Well uh- Derek already took Mark out for drinks since they both lost a lot of patients today," answered Meredith uneasily.

"And Alex is still in surgery. And he's on call tonight," came Izzie's reply.

"So McDreamy left you for McSteamy. And Evil Spawn abandoned hot sex for a surgery," summed up Cristina. "Guess we all need drinks then."

"Today sucks," agreed Meredith. "Anything interesting happen to you?"

"I might spill a bit after a few shots of tequila," laughed Cristina as the three of them headed towards the elevators.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Owen's patient was finally out of surgery and stable, although not without a few other complications. Owen was still unsure of how much of his conversation with Cristina had been overheard by Teddy, but that was one of the last issues playing on his mind right now. The main issue was Cristina; she walked away over and over again, and there was nothing he could stop her.

Teddy had remained in the OR until Owen had closed up the patient. Her eyes never left him during the entire time. Her face still showed her surprise of seeing Owen and Cristina standing in such a close proximity, but she made no attempt to pursue the issue further. Owen had avoided making eye contact with her as he brushed past, heading towards the exit of the OR. She had followed him wordlessly as he headed into an on-call room.

"Not now, Teddy," he said, his voice lower than usual, as she shut the door behind them. "I can't-"

"I get it, Owen. You need time to think. You need space. I get it. You need to convince yourself you made the right choice. And when you have, I'll be here," she peered at him cautiously, and with a sympathetic yet worried look on her face, she left him to his thoughts in the on-call room.

Owen was lost deep in thought.

He didn't want space. He didn't want alone time. He didn't want Teddy's sympathy. All he wanted now was an actual conversation with Cristina. It was hard enough for most people in the hospital to merely exchange a few words with her due to her increasing popularity that had resulted from the lymphoma surgery. And now, the fact that she'd be purposefully avoiding him made the possibility of a proper conversation extremely unlikely. It was then that Owen realized; what he needed wasn't alone time to think everything over. What he needed instead was a bottle of single malt scotch to drown out everything that had happened today.

Screw thinking, he thought as he left the on-call room to get changed into civilian clothing and head off over to Joe's.

* * *

At Emerald City bar, it had become apparent that two years apart had done nothing to change the friendship and differences between Meredith and Cristina.

"Penises, Izzie," said Cristina drunkenly.

"Estrogen, George. Estrogen," corrected Meredith.

"Why do men always complicate things?" slurred Cristina. "Men are stupid."

"Yeah. Only stupid men abandon their wives and hot-sex for a stupid boys' night out," Meredith said as she drained her drink.

"And who would turn down hot sex?" added Izzie, downing her drink while leaning heavily on George.

"Apparently your boyfriend did for surgery. But that's just called being hardcore," hiccupped Cristina.

"Shouldn't we head home now? The Chief hates it when we're late for pre-rounds," said George quickly before Izzie could reply.

"Not Cristina. She's too good for rounds now," taunted Izzie in an clearly inebriated tone.

"We're all going to be wasted tomorrow," George muttered, taking another sip of his beer.

Cristina was about to make a sarcastic remark when a flash of red and blue registered in her peripheral vision. Even in her drunken state, she knew who it was. Meredith appeared to have noticed too as she nudged Cristina drunkenly and slurred _"Is that G.I Joe?"_


	8. Chapter 8: Emotionless

Owen too seemed to have noticed the mess of black curls sprawled at a table with what appeared to be a drunken Meredith, intoxicated Izzie and a frustrated-looking George. He was slightly surprised that Jackson wasn't with them as he had learnt from gossip-hungry nurses that Cristina and Jackson had grown increasingly close over the two years. This thought was followed by a twinge of jealousy that ran through him although he knew he had no right to be feeling it. The fact she was here shouldn't even affect him at all; he had Teddy. No correction, he _chose_ Teddy. Yet, he felt instinctively drawn to her, a desire burning within him to hold her once again. He fought with this desire and with a great deal of self-control as he instead decided to follow his better judgment and head towards the bar.

* * *

"What is _he_ doing here?" slurred Cristina drunkenly. The other two heads turned and stared at Owen who was sitting by himself at the bar with his back to them.

"It's a bar, Cristina. He's allowed to come here. It's eleven and half the hospital is here," replied Izzie, downing her fifth drink.

"Seriously, we should go. I think you've all had more than enough to drink," said George, clutching his beer nervously.

Meredith rolled her eyes in a drunken manner, "It's a girls' night. None of us have anyone to screw so we're allowed to get drunk. So stop talking and drink."

"I am so not a girl," muttered George, finishing his beer before signaling for another one.

"Shouldn't you all be at home?" asked Joe, walking up to their table to refill their drinks.

"Nope. None of them have anyone to screw. And I need to get drunk," replied Cristina placing an emphasis on the last word as she waved her empty glass.

"You seem drunk enough already," said Joe, peering at her. After a brief moment of indecision "Alright, last round. Then I'm calling a cab if you need one," he decided before walking off.

After Joe had left to serve the next customer, Izzie turned to Cristina, deciding to pick up where their previous conversation had left off.

"So, what's with you and the pig-murderer? I thought you and Avery had a thing," Izzie said as she reached for George's beer.

"Why do you care? Go screw yourself. Actually, go screw Evil Spawn. Oh that's right. You can't." Cristina shot back.

"What about me?" said Alex as he drew near their table, ignoring the drunken surprised looks radiating at him.

"Just the fact that you ditched hot sex for surgery," slurred Meredith.

"Shut up, it's not like McDreamy didn't do the same for his man-whore friend," Izzie defended Alex.

"I traded shifts with Reed since the ER is pretty empty and there were no big traumas are coming in. Look, I'm sorry Iz. How about I take you home now?" offered Alex, giving her an irresistible smile.

"I'm done for the night then. And Cristina, I'm going to find out all the juicy gossip about you and Avery so you might as well tell me now," hiccupped Izzie before Alex placed his hand at the small of her back and gently guided her to the door.

"It's not fun drinking with just the two of us," grumbled Cristina as they finished off their drinks.

"Hello. Three people. George. Male," retorted George.

"Yeah whatever, Bambi."

"Mer, I'll give you a lift home?" asked George, grabbing his jacket.

"Yeah sure," she answered. "Are you going to be alright by yourself?" Meredith looked at Cristina, slight concern taking over her intoxicated features.

"Yeah. Go ahead. Make sure she gets home safely, Bambi," came Cristina's disinterested voice as she cracked open another peanut.

"Okay. Goodnight then," Meredith replied, leaning heavily on George who guided her slowly towards the exit.

* * *

In the corner of his peripheral vision, Owen noticed a drunken Meredith being supported by George heading towards the exit. Ten minutes ago, he had seen a severely intoxicated Izzie exit with Alex. After a split moment of indecision, he decided to sneak a quick glance over his shoulder at the booth.

Cristina sat there by herself, toying with her empty glass and the peanut shells on the table in front of her. She checked her watch. 11:37 pm. She knew she should probably head back; Jackson would no doubt be asleep already. It had been a long and mentally exhausting day. She sighed as grabbed her phone and stood up. Nothing could have prepared her for the loss of coordination as the world around her spun from the amount of alcohol she had ingested. Before she could hit the floor, secure strong arms had wrapped themselves around her, steadying her, holding her. She looked up and her surprised brown eyes met a pair of concerned blue ones. Her ability to speak had left her completely.

"Cristina," his soft voice came from somewhere beside her ear as his set of strong secure arms were still wrapped around her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," came Cristina reply as she tried to extract herself from Owen's arms. He resisted at first, but released her from the hold in his arms, almost unwillingly. As the support provided by his arms disappeared, her world began to spin for the second time but she managed to steady herself on the table behind her, waving away the arms that reached for her again.

"Are you leaving now? I'll walk you home," said Owen quietly, his blue eyes staring intensely at her.

"No." responded Cristina quickly, avoiding his piercing stare. "I mean, yes I'm leaving, but I don't need you to walk me home."

She paused for a second, as dozens of thoughts filled her mind. Everywhere she went and everywhere she turned, he was there. Chasing her and catching her. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She didn't want him. _She couldn't want him._ She deserved better.

He didn't move or leave. Instead he simply gazed at her with his tortured yet determined ocean blue eyes which were filled with his unspoken words and silent pleas.

"Alright, whatever. You and your stupid savior-complex. And right now, I'm the drunk little girl who can't walk herself home," grumbled Cristina sarcastically after seeing the determination in Owen's eyes which showed he wasn't going to back down anytime soon.

In spite of himself, Owen found himself smiling slightly as he wrapped an arm firmly around Cristina's thin waist, gently guiding her towards the exit and providing stability and support to Cristina's spinning world. He enjoyed this feeling of déjà vu mixed with contentment. It was then that he realized how much he had missed even her stupid, smart-ass sarcastic comments.

As they stepped outside the warm bar, the cold winter wind swirled around them. Cristina shivered involuntarily. She had left her coat in her apartment as the walk from to the hospital was a fairly short one. Owen seemed to have noticed this slight shudder running through her body as he quickly shrugged out of his thick leather jacket leaving him with only a thin long-sleeved shirt between his warm body and the cold bitter wind. She raised her hands, protesting slightly as he pulled the jacket around her, but she gave in once enveloped in the welcoming warmth of his jacket.

"Thank you," she murmured as the heat from the jacket warmed her cold body.

"Don't mention it," Owen's polite response.

They walked in silence for the remaining two hundred metres to Cristina's apartment, each lost deep in their own thoughts.

The warmth from the entrance of Cristina's apartment building welcomed them as they drew near their destination. The elevator ride up to Cristina's floor was deafeningly silent. There was so much Owen wanted to say, yet he found himself completely tongue-tied as he stood awkwardly beside her in the enclosed space.

"So…" began Owen.

"So…" echoed Cristina.

"Look. I know I messed up."

Silence.

"Say something, Cristina. Anything," he pleaded

_Ding._

The opening of elevator doors ended their conversation.

As they neared the door, Cristina began fumbling for her keys; the effect of the amount of alcohol she had consumed could be seen in her stunted and uncoordinated movements as she tried unsuccessfully to fit the key into the lock.

With his free hand, Owen wordlessly took her hand into his and guided it gently towards the lock, turning and until a click was heard.

The door swung open to reveal an empty living room door to Owen's relief as Avery was a hoop that he wasn't quite to ready to jump through yet. The alcohol was finally taking a toll on Cristina now the high from it had worn off now leaving her thoroughly tired and exhausted with her eyelids growing heavier and heavier by the second. With his arm still wrapped around her thin waist, Owen guided her gently towards her bedroom. Her apartment reeked and overflowed with memories he had been so keen on forgetting two years ago.

* * *

_Flashback_

_His world was spinning slightly as he strode past the elevator doors heading towards Cristina's apartment. As he knocked on the door, Teddy's words echoed in his head; 'she was willing to trade you for me. If I stayed she said I could have you_._' Hurt rippled through his torso. He knew Cristina was surgically driven, but this was an unexpected blow for him._

_The door swung open to reveal a slight worried-looking Cristina._

"_Where have you been? You just disappeared." Unable to meet his tortured blue eyes, she instead turned around and walked towards couch. "I left you like ten messages. Are you drunk? I mea-"_

_Before she knew it, Owen had spun her around to face him and his lips hungrily engulfed hers. This passionate interaction lasted only for a few seconds as Cristina pushed him away before he could deepen the kiss. _

"_Wait. What, what, what?"Her expression showed she was completely unprepared for his sudden display of affection._

_Owen breathed heavily as numerous thoughts rushed to the surface of his mind. "You make me sad," he stated simply. Cristina's bewildered look showed her incomprehension. He found himself voicing all the thoughts that had flooded his mind that night._

"_You think that a good surgery is going to make you feel. You think that a successful career is going to make you happy. You think that you know things, know things and nothing else matters, no one else matters. People do matter. I matter. We- We matter." His eyes had grown more and more determined with each word. "So you don't get to toss me aside. I won't let you." He had inched closer and closer towards her, towering over her as if this would make his words sink in._

_A range of emotions flickered across Cristina's face as Owen watched on. Before he could regret his outburst, Cristina's hands cradled his face as her lips found his, devouring them greedily._

_Two pieces of the puzzle clicked together forming a moment of complete bliss and perfection._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

He smiled involuntarily at this memory as he set down a glass of water and a few aspirin tablets on Cristina's bedside table. It felt refreshing to embrace these memories as opposed to burying them in surgeries and sex which was exactly what he had been doing for the past two years. He had somehow managed to get the drunken and drowsy Cristina into her bed and although she was fully clothed, she was snoring lightly already. She looked so peaceful lying there, her usually cold and detached expression was gone and it was instead replaced with a small sad smile. He reached over and tucked a stray curl back in place. He had missed her. There was no point denying this. He had missed her smile, her feisty attitude and even her smart-ass comments. It was moments like these that made him wish he could turn back time and start over again. He crouched there soaking up this beautiful sight, not knowing if this was the last time he would be alone with Cristina before she left again.

He heard footsteps approaching and he instinctively placed his body between Cristina and the door. The door swung open to reveal a drowsy looking Jackson Avery.

Avery's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him. Owen Hunt was crouched beside a fully-clothed sleeping Cristina. Still recovering from the shock, he motioned wordlessly for Owen to follow him. Sparing a final glance at Cristina's peaceful sleeping figure, he turned and followed Avery out of the room.

"One minute, Hunt," called Jackson as Owen headed for the door. "Look, I don't know what happened tonight or why you were with her and I don't want to know."

"Nothing happ- " Owen began.

Jackson raised his hand to cut him off. "I get that you have… history with her. But you hurt her. I watched her cry herself to sleep every night for the past two years. She thought could hide her pain from everyone, but I saw. I saw how you hurt her; I saw how you broke her. She's suffered through these two years and I don't want to see her suffer any more."

"What's the supposed to mean?" challenged Owen.

Cold sapphire blue eyes clashed against a pair of determined emerald green ones.

"Stay away from her. Give her a chance to be happy," replied Jackson simply as steely blue eyes glared at him.

"And you can make her happy?" was Owen's skeptical retort.

"More than you," snapped Jackson who immediately regretted his words after seeing a look of hurt flicker across Owen's face. "Look I'm sor-" he began.

"No. You're right. I didn't make her happy when I could." His tortured ocean blue eyes saddened as he spoke. "And now I can't anymore."

"I'll look after her," promised Jackson.

"How many more days?" This was shortened from the question _how many more days until I won't see her anymore_ that was left unspoken in Owen's mind.

"Five, I think. Once the lymphoma patient is in the all-clear, we'll probably leave again. I'm not sure where though."

"Nurses are under the impression that Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore will be her final destination," pressed Owen cautiously.

"Actually, I wouldn't be too sure," laughed Jackson. "She can't seem to settle down in one place for long. She follows all the rare and complicated surgeries offered by my grandpa so we spend most of our time travelling from one side of the country to the other," he explained after seeing the confused look on Owen's face.

"I should get going."

"Wait. Here," said Jackson as he tossed Owen a jacket folded on the coffee table. "It's pretty cold out there. Left yours at the hospital?"

"Something like that," Owen struggled to conceal a grin as he shrugged on the jacket. "Nice seeing you again. Bye," he said before shutting the door quietly behind him.

After Owen left, Jackson let out a sigh of relief. He had not expected their interaction to be easy and nor had he expected the tortured look in Owen's eyes. It had been a long day for everyone. He walked quietly to Cristina's room and watched her as she snored lightly, fast asleep. She still wore that sad smile on her face, but the detached emotionless demeanor was gone. He hadn't seen her look so peaceful in the two years they have left Seattle. His mind flashed back to their first night together in Washington, just over two years ago.

* * *

_Flashback_

_The setting sun was casually framed by the white framed glass window. Jackson tossed the keys carelessly on the table located near the door. Their luggage had already been delivered._

"_This is it?" came Cristina's slightly jetlagged voice from behind him._

"_This is it. Or you can call it home seeing as we're going to be staying here for the next two weeks," he replied, as his eyes scanned his surrounding. There was a white, spacious three-seater sofa with vibrant red cushions to his right. To his left was an extremely modern and classy looking kitchen equipped with not only a microwave, but also an oven. _

"_The bigger room is mine!" Cristina's voice came from somewhere down the hallway as she had explored the spacious apartment._

"_Whatever, Yang," he replied as he rolled his eyes at her childish comment before moving to explore his own room._

_A few hours later, Jackson was lying on his bed with medical journal in one hand and his phone in the other, his mind elsewhere. Dinner had been fairly uneventful; just another cozy pizza shop with their own booth, beer and garlic bread. Cristina had seemed somewhat normal. The crying and heartbroken Cristina had disappeared during the plane trip and had instead been replaced by a colder, emotionless one. She still had her arrogant attitude and cocky comebacks to his arguments, but he noticed that her smile never reached her eyes and her laughter sounded somewhat hollow and broken. Knowing Cristina, he decided that the best option was to keep his mouth shut rather than ask if she was okay. He sighed, unsure of what his duties as her only 'friend' were. He considered calling Meredith for advice, but he decided against it as he doubted Cristina would appreciate his interference. _

_Sleep wasn't going to come easy for his troubled mind so he decided to grab a glass of water before trying to sleep again. As he passed Cristina's room, he heard the sound of quiet muffled sobbing coming from the small gap left by the half-closed door. He stood there, unsure of what to do. Against his better judgment, he inched the door open a bit more and peered in cautiously through the gap. Half-lying on the floor next to the bed was Cristina whose body shook and rippled as waves of hurt and grief ran through her. Within seconds, Jackson had scooped her into his arms, rocking her back and forth gently as tears flowed freely from those chocolate brown eyes. _

_It was then that he realized the extent of the damage left by Owen Hunt._

_End of Flashback_


	9. Chapter 9: Coincidences

The sunlight filtered in through the thin blind, filling the room with a warm inviting glow. Cristina awoke with a sense of déjà vu as she had not woken up in her own bed for over two years. The familiar masculine scent that she used to wake up to two years ago was radiating strongly from the jacket she was still wearing added to this disconcerting sense of déjà vu. She sat up slowly. Her head felt like it weighed a few hundred kilograms. She silently cursed herself for ignoring George's hints to go easy on the vodka last night. She checked her watch. Ten thirty-two AM. Great, she thought to herself sarcastically. She had exactly twenty-eight minutes to shower, get dressed and find a bottle of aspirin for her aching head before she was due in at the hospital for the post-op assessment of Sarah.

She hurriedly rolled off her bed in search of a fresh set of clothes. As she did so, something on her bed stand caught her eye. A glass of water and a few aspirin tablets. Guess Jackson does know a thing or two about hangovers, thought Cristina as she swallowed the tablets along with the water before continuing her search for a set of fresh clothing.

Fifteen minutes later, she was showered and dressed although a slight smell of vodka lingered. She rushed out of her room, grabbing her phone and keys leaving Owen's jacket neatly folded on her unmade bed. She didn't even bother with breakfast as she rushed out of her apartment and headed towards the hospital.

* * *

Owen sat outside the entrance of the hospital, shivering slightly as the cold winter wind swirled around him, his mind lost deep in thought. He'd only managed a few hours of deeply troubled sleep as Jackson's words had given him a lot to think about. He was no good for Cristina, for anyone. Jackson was good for Cristina. _Jackson could make her happy_. Two years didn't sound like much, but two years was seven hundred and thirty days. Two years should have been more than enough for him to get over Cristina. But two years later, the intensity of his feelings had not deteriorated over time, instead they had strengthened. He had fought them hard for the past two years by telling himself over and over again he _chose_ Teddy.

"Didn't you sleep?" Derek's voice pulled Owen from his thoughts.

"What?" asked Owen as his mind returned to the present.

"You look like hell," was Derek's simple reply.

"Just a rough night." He had no desire to share his troubles with the extremely chatty Derek.

"Tell me about it. I got home to find O'Malley fast asleep on the living room floor and my drunk girlfriend tearing apart the kitchen for cookies. And when she woke up in the morning with a huge hangover and she blamed it all on me," finished Derek, shaking his head in disbelief.

The corners of Owen's mouth twitched as he unsuccessfully tried to hide his smile.

"Go on. Laugh. Get it out of your system. Then you'll be able to tell me about your night," said Derek as he noticed Owen's barely concealed grin.

"Like I said, it was just a rough night."

"You and Teddy fighting again?" Concern could be clearly heard in Derek's voice.

Owen was about to dodge Derek's question when he saw a mess of ebony curls turn rush around the corner at a record breaking speed. His eyes followed the blur as it rushed through the hospital doors; phone in one hand, bag in the other.

"Hunt. You still with me?" He shifted his gaze from the closing hospital doors met Derek's amused expression.

"Sorry. You were saying?" Owen tried to keep his expression as casual as possible as his eyes occasionally drifted towards the hospital doors.

"You seem pretty distracted. So are you going to tell me about your night or are you going to stare at the hospital entrance?" smirked Derek, with a bemused expression on his face.

"It was noth-" Owen's reply was cut short was his pager went off.

_Beep Beep. - 911 Room 2132._

"Saved by the pager," said Owen quickly as he clapped Derek on the back before heading back into the hospital.

"See you at the fundraiser tonight," Derek called after him.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late. I got caught up with a bit of paperwork," lied Cristina as she burst into the patient's room.

"Yeah right," Jackson whispered in her ear as she elbowed him playfully.

"So, your kidneys seem a bit sluggish, but we'll be monitoring that closely," said Cristina as she quickly flipped through Sarah's chart. "Have you been feeling any pain in your chest?"

"Just a bit," admitted Sarah.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is it?" Cristina asked as she checked Sarah's breathing with her stethoscope.

"About a three."

"I'll tell the nurses to give you morphine for the pain. Do you have any questions or concerns?"

"How long will the recovery take?"

"A usual cardiac lymphoma surgery takes about six to eight weeks of recovery. But since your case was pretty severe, it'll take about ten to twelve weeks. The best case scenario would be eight weeks, but that seems highly unlikely given your condition right now."

"Oh," was the patient's reply.

"You sound disappointed," remarked Cristina.

"No. Really I'm not." Cristina lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. "Fine, maybe a little," admitted Sarah.

"Why?"

"My fiancée graduates from law school in eight weeks. It'd just mean a lot to him if I could be there for it."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I survived what is apparently one of the most risky surgeries. Being alive is a gift itself I guess."

Cristina smiled. "Take it easy today. I'm going to recommend a liquid diet for the next few days before you move onto more solid food. If you or your parents have any more questions or concerns, you can get one of the nurses to page me," she said heading towards the door.

Once out the door, Cristina turned on Jackson.

"Thanks for not waking me up. I nearly tripped over a group of interns running here," she said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," grinned Jackson as he dodged her elbow.

"Dr. Yang. A minute please," Chief Webber called from behind her.

"Oh sir. I really appreciate the offer, but I haven't decided yet. I'm still considering my-" she said quickly.

"That's not what I want to talk about."

"It's not?" Surprise was evident in her voice.

"No. I was wondering if you would like to attend a fundraising mixer with many of the hospital's major sponsors. It'll be held here at the hospital tonight."

"I'm not too sure it's a good idea, Sir. Technically speaking, I'm not one of your staff," she replied quickly as a mental image of the chaotic interns mixer from years ago flashed before her eyes.

"But you spent nearly half of your residency here. Currently, you are one of the best cardiothoracic surgeons in the world and you've recently performed a world-first surgery at this hospital."

"Cristina and I would be delighted to attend," said Jackson quickly from behind her.

"Excellent. It starts at 8pm. And dress formally," said the Chief before walking off.

"Why did you do that?" whined Cristina, rounding on Jackson.

"Just helping you consider your options," he replied innocently.

"I hate you. And I hate fundraising events. They're stupid," Cristina muttered as they headed towards the elevators.

"Chief making you go too?" asked Meredith with amusement creeping into her voice when she saw Cristina holding two pairs of heels with an indecisive look on her face.

"Shut up. Least I'm going as a surgeon not eye-candy," Cristina retorted.

"All I have to do is smile while my hot neurosurgeon boyfriend does all the talking. While you have you be serious and sponsor-talk everyone," smirked Meredith.

"You sound like you just got laid. Is that how McDreamy got you to go?"

"Nope. This is me on a surgery-high. We just removed a tumour the size of a golf ball from a man's brain."

"You know, if I'm going to wear a stupid girly dress and stupid heels and make stupid small-talk with sponsors, I need to cut. I need to hold a beating heart in my hand. Isn't there anyone dying right now?" groaned Cristina.

"Check the ER. You might get lucky," suggested Meredith.

Cristina shot her a look of annoyance.

"So how's everything between you and Owen? I mean, have you seen Owen yet?"

"Yes."

"Did you talk to him?" Meredith persisted.

"Yes. No. Sort of. I was drunk. The last thing I remember was him walking me home. Then the next thing I know, I've woken up wearing his jacket."

Sensing that Cristina wasn't going to disclose any more details, Meredith decided to divert the conversation into more neutral ground.

"So, what is going on between you and Jackson? You didn't mention you two were so close when we talked on the phone," accused Meredith.

"What is there to talk about? We're just friends."

Meredith raised her eyebrows disbelievingly, but dropped the conversation as her pager beeped.

Looking at it, she said "Derek's paging me. I have to go. See you for lunch?"

"Yeah whatever," said Cristina to Meredith's disappearing back.

Sighing loudly, she chucked the heels back into her bag. She really needed a surgery to get through the day.

* * *

_Thanks for walking me home last night. Thanks for walking me home last night. _Cristina rehearsed these words over and over again in her head as she nursed a sugar-free espresso gingerly in her hands. Jackson had suggested she at least say a thank you to Owen even though she barely remembered anything that happened last night. She gathered up her courage and walked at a slow measure pace towards Owen. Then, something approaching in the opposite direction stopped her in her tracks.

"Owen." Teddy's voice rang from somewhere behind him. He turned around slowly and found Teddy jogging towards him, a coffee in each hand.

"Thanks," he murmured as he pretended to sip the mocha latte, hiding his distaste for the beverage.

"So..." Teddy began conversationally. "Where were you last night?"

"Just went to Joe's and grabbed a drink with Shepherd and Sloan," he lied fluidly.

"Oh. I was looking for you..." her voice trailed off.

"Sorry. I should have called."

"I have an aortic repair today in twenty minutes. OR 1. You should come watch," hinted Teddy.

"I'll try be there," promised Owen.

"Thank you," said Teddy before she reached up and captured Owen's lips in a passionate kiss before heading towards the elevators.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Cristina found her legs carrying her towards the table in the cafeteria where Meredith and Izzie were already seated.

"You're late," remarked Izzie as Cristina joined their table, still holding the cup of coffee.

"Whatever, Barbie," retorted Cristina.

Evidently, Izzie hadn't caught onto Cristina's stormy mood as she continued happily gossiping about her day. Cristina instantly began to zone out, and her mind drifted back to the affectionate interaction she had witnessed between Owen and Teddy. He had moved on. There was no doubt about it. The two years apart had felt like a long time to her as she had missed him every second of everyday. He was on her every thought. She had tried to erase him from her mind completely through countless surgeries, but they had only temporarily numbed and delayed the pain.

Izzie's voice cut through her thoughts.

"So where's Avery? I heard you two are inseparable," teased Izzie, placing a strong emphasis on the last word.

"I don't know. He said something about checking out other hospitals," replied Cristina bluntly.

"You're seriously not going to give me anything?" Izzie's doe-coloured brown eyes pleaded playfully.

"Izzie!" Meredith reprimanded as her eyes flickered to Cristina's strangely emotionless face.

"Come on. Give me some details. Is he any good in bed?" pleaded Izzie.

"I am not sleeping with Jackson!" Anger and annoyance had filled her voice.

"It's been two years. As if you haven't moved on from Hunt," said Izzie rolling her eyes.

Cristina remained silent, her eyes slightly downcast.

"Oh my god. You haven't moved on!" exclaimed Izzie, her face a mask of surprise.

Cristina immediately sprang to her feet. She didn't want to talk about this now.

"Cristina! Wait," yelled Meredith.

Ignoring Meredith, she walked towards the exit as fast as she could, trying not to attract too much attention. Her untouched lukewarm coffee was left abandoned on the table.

"Izzie," Meredith sighed, giving Izzie a disappointed look.

Cristina kept walking and walking. She found her feet carrying her towards the boiler room. She paused, remembering it was no longer her and Owen's place anymore. She instead headed towards the lobby seats to watch the rain run down the cold glass walls.

"You okay?" Callie's voice came from somewhere beside Cristina as she sat on the chairs in the hospital lobby, lost deep in thought.

"Hey," replied Cristina.

"Hey? Is that all I get after two years? You do still remember me right?" Callie said as she feigned hurt.

"Callie Torres. Straight, married, divorced then gay," responded Cristina without missing a beat.

"There's the Cristina I remember," smiled Callie as she enveloped Cristina into a big bear hug.

"Uh you're touching me," said Cristina as she looked for an escape route out of Callie's arms.

"Oh. Sorry. Thought you'd be over the whole I'm-Cristina-so-don't-touch-me thing by now," Callie said as she quickly lowered her arms.

"Please don't tell me you're still the same I-strip-half-naked-in-hallways Callie."

"Funny," was the sarcastic reply.

"So, you're still with the rollerblade peds surgeon girl?"

"If you're talking about Arizona, then the answer's yes. We're still together."

"Well guess there are such things as miracles," remarked Cristina as she skilfully dodged Callie's elbow.

"Watch it, Yang."

"Whatever."

"What about you? I had no idea you were even coming until you showed up. Thanks for not calling by the way. It felt good," said Callie sarcastically.

"Oh sorry." She didn't want to discuss the reason she had left.

"And nice work on your lymphoma surgery. I only got to watch half of it 'cause I got paged for broken bones. But I did hear about the Yang method," Callie joked. Cristina had a feeling that Callie knew more than what she was letting off.

"Spit it out. What do you want to know?" asked Cristina bluntly.

"Is it true you're leaving again?"

"Yes," was Cristina monosyllabic reply.

"Ah," said Callie as she took the hint. "Least say goodbye this time. I don't want to have to hear it again from George that you've left."

"Sure," replied Cristina non-committedly.

_Beep Beep_. Their pages sounded in sync.

"Trauma bay huh? You're getting paged too? Must be big," remarked Callie.

"Let's go. I _need_ to cut."

"What do we have?" said Cristina as she slipped her trauma gown on.

"Ferry boat accident. It crashed into the pier so we're going to get flooded with trauma," answered Webber from beside her as he too slipped on a trauma gown. "Hope you don't mind helping us out, Yang."

"No problem, Sir."

The trauma bay was crowded with a swarm of doctors waiting on the incoming ambulance.

"Male. Mid-thirties. Head trauma and a depressed skull fracture," informed the ambulance officer as she guided the stretcher towards the hospital doors.

"Shepherd and Grey, that's yours," called Webber over the noise as a second ambulance pulled in.

"Female. Late fifties. She's got internal bleeding and a dislocated shoulder plus broken leg."

"Bailey, Torres and Karev. Go," directed the Chief.

"Where's the freakin' cardio trauma?" muttered Cristina as the ambulance officers rushed past her.

The third ambulance pulled in and screeched to a stop and Cristina froze as its doors burst open and the patient was unloaded.

"Oh. My. God," came Arizona's voice from behind her.

Webber had frozen too. Lying on the stretcher barely breathing was a child no older than 7 years old with what appeared to be a collection of bloody metal utensils stuck in her chest.

"Save her. Please. Don't let her die," sobbed the clearly distressed mother beside the ambulance officer.

The voice of the distressed woman snapped Webber out of his shocked state.

"Robbins. Yang and Hunt. Get her inside," yelled Webber as the next ambulance came into view.

"Female. Six years old. She's got about half a dozen utensils stuck in her chest and we suspect also internal bleeding," said the ambulance officer as they rushed through the hospital doors.

"Don't let her die. She's only six. She'll be seven next week," sobbed the mother from beside Cristina.

"What's her name, ma'am?" asked Owen in a calm collected voice.

"Andrea. Andrea Kelps. Please don't let her die," cried the woman.

"Okay. Your daughter's in good hands. I promise we'll give you an update when we have one," reassured Owen as he scribbled down the details.

"Nurses. Prep an OR. We've got to go in now," yelled Arizona as they transferred the patient onto a hospital stretcher.

"Ma'am, you'll have to wait here." said Cristina before she hurried through the OR hallway doors where she joined Arizona and Owen.

"Nice to have you back, Yang," said Arizona hurriedly. "Okay. Here's the plan. Hunt, you get the internal bleeding under control and repair as much of the damage in her abdomen as possible. Yang and I will attempt to remove the foreign objects without causing too much damage to her upper chest area. Okay? Let's go."

They scrubbed in at a record-breaking speed as Cristina tried to ignore Owen's occasional glances in her direction.

* * *

Several hours later, Cristina had successfully removed four of the five utensils stuck in the patient's chest and Owen had managed to repair the internal bleeding and perform repairs on the liver.

"One fork left," murmured Cristina as she finished stitching up corner of the lung which the fourth utensil had pierced. There was a reason she had left this fork for last. It had pierced the area directly above the heart so whether or not it had punctured the heart itself was still unapparent.

"Removing the fork slowly," she announced as she placed her hands around the handle securely and pulled at a snail's pace.

The whole OR was silent and held their breaths as they watched in anticipation.

Suddenly, blood spurted everywhere and coated Arizona, Cristina, the nurses and the anaesthesiologist.

"Add pressure. And scalpel please," yelled Cristina as all hell broke loose in the OR.

"Her BP's dropping," informed Owen as his hands joined Cristina's in applying pressure to the patient's chest. Her warmth radiated even through the thick latex gloves. Although it was only yesterday that Owen had seen her operate, he found himself mesmerised yet again by her calm and measured movements.

"She's got a tear in her right atrium. Dr. Hunt. Can you suction while I perform the repair?"

With a slight nod, Owen grabbed the suction tool and moved closer to her as he wordlessly followed her instructions.

"Nice work, Yang," praised Arizona as Cristina performed the final stitch on the patient's heart.

"How's she holding?"

"Heart rate's stable. BP's within normal limits too," replied Owen as returned the suction tool to the nurse's waiting hand.

"Good. Dr. Robbins, can you close up? I'm going to talk to the mother," said Cristina as she sought a quick escape from the OR.

"Wait. I'll come with you," volunteered Owen as also moved towards the OR exit.

"No it's really not necessary. I can handle talking to the mother by myself," she replied quickly.

"I promised the patient's mother that I would update her on her daughter's status whenever I could," said Owen pointedly.

Nurses had begun staring curiously at the pair so to save herself from becoming the hospital's next top topic, Cristina decided there was no point trying to change Owen's mind especially when those stubborn sapphire blue eyes looked so determined.

"Fine."

* * *

"How's your head?" asked Owen without thinking as the pair walked down the OR hallway towards the ER waiting room.

"What?" Cristina's voice was incredulous.

"I mean, are you okay after all that vodka last night? Did you take the aspirins?" corrected Owen as he silently cursed his poor word choice.

"Oh. I did. And I wouldn't have operated if I wasn't," replied Cristina brusquely. So it had been Owen not Jackson who had left her aspirin, she thought quietly.

"That's good," said Owen before an awkward silence settled over them before the patient's mother came into view.

"Oh my god. Andrea. Is she okay? Please tell me she's alive," cried the mother.

"Your daughter's operation was successful although we didn't anticipate the tear in the right atrium. Your daughter is stable, but her condition is still critical," informed Cristina matter-of-factly.

"You'll be able to see her in an hour although the anaesthesia probably won't wear off for another few hours," added Owen

"Thank you. Thank you both," sobbed the mother.

Owen tried unsuccessfully to hide a smirk at the shocked expression that appeared on Cristina's face as the woman engulfed them both in a hug. His smirk didn't go unnoticed by Cristina whose eyes shot daggers at him, telling him to wipe that smirk off his face. Two years apart had not changed much between them. He was still not intimidated by her daunting exterior as he knew that her bite was far worse than her bark. His smirk widened cheekily in response to the glare that was radiating at him.

"Um ma'am. You can let go now," hinted Cristina bluntly as the woman sobbed openly into Cristina's shoulder soaking her scrub top.

"When your daughter's out of surgery, the nurses can take you to see her," said Owen before a nurse came and escorted the mother to intensive care unit's waiting room.

As soon as she was out of sight, Owen chuckled openly at the image of Cristina's expression just moments across flashed across his mind.

"Not funny," reprimanded Cristina as she found herself trying to hold back a smile too.

Owen immediately stopped laughed. "Sorry. It wasn't funny. Actually, it was priceless," he said as a smile stretched across his face.

"Haha. You're funny," replied Cristina sarcastically. Although her face remained emotionless, her eyes twinkled and danced with amusement and laughter.

Jackson watched the interaction between the pair silently from a few metres away, his face an expression of shock. This was the first time in two years he had seen Cristina truly smile. And the fact that she was standing less than a metre away from the source of her pain was more than he could stomach right now.

* * *

"Pretty boy!" Cristina's voice rang from across the waiting room and cut through his train of thought.

"Cristina. It's nearly 7. You've got less than an hour to prepare for the fundraiser" he lectured.

"But I don't have a dress or anything. All I've got are two crappy pairs of heels which aren't even mine," whined Cristina.

"Don't worry. I've found you some," assured Jackson.

"You? You don't even know what size I am," laughed Cristina.

"Let me rephrase what I said. I've found someone who can help out," he corrected as he motioned to something behind Cristina.

She spun around and found herself face to face with Izzie Stevens.

"Cristina. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I honestly had no idea. So I'm really really really sorry," rambled Izzie nervously.

"You got her?" said Cristina incredulously to Jackson.

"Well she seems to know what to do," he defended.

'Fine. Apology accepted," grumbled Cristina.

"Awesome. Let's find you a dress," exclaimed Izzie as she flashed them a cheery bright smile.

"I don't do dresses," muttered Cristina as Izzie dragged her off.

* * *

Half an hour later, Izzie had managed to find an elegant peacock blue strapless dress which even Cristina couldn't fault. It even went perfectly with the pair of silver heels Cristina had borrowed earlier.

"I'm sure you'll look gorgeous. Anyways, I have to go get changed. See you later," smiled Izzie as she headed for the door.

A few minutes later, Cristina emerged from her bedroom into the kitchen area and Jackson's sharp intake of breath could be heard. The dress hugged all her curves in the right places and emphasised the perfection of her rounded breasts. The vibrant colour also contrasted against pale white skin, creating an almost glowing effect around her.

"Stop staring. I look ridiculous," grumbled Cristina.

"You look nice," offered Jackson who was still unable to take his eyes off her.

"Ugh. How do people walk in these things? Heels are stupid," she muttered as she managed a few ungraceful steps in the silver heels which fitted her feet perfectly.

Only Cristina could ruin a perfect moment like this, Jackson thought as he smirked slightly.

"You'll be fine. Just don't trip or step on anyone," teased Jackson.

"Let's go," said Cristina as she rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Wait up. You're not ready yet. I got you something."

"What? Don't tell me you bought me a stupid Barbie-style accessory," remarked Cristina as Jackson tossed a stylish velvet box at her.

"Just open it," said Jackson as he rolled his eyes.

Inside the box was an expensive looking heart-shaped sapphire which hung off a thin delicate gold chain. She ran her fingers over it gently, enjoying the cool hard touch of the gem.

"Seriously?"

"I'll help you put it on," offered Jackson as he lifted the delicate chain from the box and connected the two ends smoothly around Cristina's pale neck. "Now you're ready to go," he said, ignoring the questioning look from Cristina.

"See. You look amazing. She looks amazing doesn't she, Mer?" gushed Izzie who was the first person to greet them when they arrived in the lobby of the hospital.

"You look nice," smiled Meredith whose arm was snaked around Derek's waist.

"Not bad, Yang," nodded Derek approvingly before guiding Meredith away to get a drink.

Half an hour later, after numerous talks and introductions to sponsors, she finally found a moment for herself. Cristina looked around her. Sponsors. Food. Drinks. Surgeons. And more sponsors. Her eyes scanned the room starting from the drinks table where Alex and Izzie were standing, each nursing their own drink. George was surrounded by a group of nurses fawning over him. Callie and Arizona were engaged in a conversation with Mark and Lexie with Teddy hovering in the background. Derek who had his arm wrapped tightly around Meredith's waist and was talking to the Chief along with what appeared to be a group of sponsors. The syphilis nurse was flirting heavily with one of her old interns, probably number two. And Jackson was surrounded by what appeared to be a group of sponsors and other surgeons. No sign of the red hair and blue eyes anywhere.

She sighed softly as she turned around to leave and found herself face to face with a startling pair of ocean blue eyes.


	10. Chapter 10: Explanations

She found herself mesmerised by the warm sapphire eyes that stared shamelessly at her. Owen's sharp intake of breath could be heard as he ran his eyes down Cristina's body. She looked simply breathtaking.

"Dr. Hunt." Her words were clipped and professional.

"Dr. Yang," he acknowledged in return, still not taking his eyes off her.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon them as they stared awkwardly at the other, not knowing what to say.

"How's patient with the dining utensils in her chest doing?" she asked conversationally.

"She's holding stable. Her mother hasn't left her bedside yet. But the police want a statement from the mother as to how the forks got stuck in her chest," replied Owen.

"Oh. That's good. Stable is good."

Not knowing how to reply or what to say, Owen decided to remain silent. Their surgery highs had worn off not long after their interaction in the afternoon leaving them with an air of awkwardness.

"Well um, I'm going to get some fresh air," said Cristina as the silence between them became too much to handle.

She stepped quickly around Owen trying not to fall in her ridiculously high heels. Again, he reached out instinctively and grabbed her arm before she could leave.

"No wait."

Cristina looked at him incredulously before her eyes drifted down and stared pointedly at his hand which was still secured firmly around her wrist. Noting her glare, he quickly let go of her wrist.

"Can we talk?" he asked, his words coming out rushed and almost garbled.

Her face was still a mask of surprise mixed with incredulity.

"Aren't we talking now?" Annoyance had crept slowly into her voice.

"Not here. Outside," he said, looking around cautiously.

"Okay," was Cristina's uncertain reply as she allowed herself to be gently escorted out, hoping that no one in the lobby had noticed them slip away.

"So what do you want to talk about, Dr. Hunt?" asked Cristina as soon as they were outside.

Owen ignored her question and remained silent as he gently led her to one of the park benches situated near the entrance of the hospital.

After sitting down, she looked at him questioningly.

"We never got to talk before," he stated matter-of-factly.

"You know, you don't have to do this," said Cristina bitterly.

"Do what?" His expression showed his lack of understanding which only frustrated Cristina more.

"You don't have to talk about it. You don't have to set things straight. I'm going to be out of your life in less than three days. You don't have to pretend you care."

Hurt spread rapidly across Owen's face as silence settled upon them. A pause.

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course I care, Cristina. I care about you." He emphasised each word as his eyes blazed with passion as if willing her to believe him.

Her mind flashed back to the interaction she had seen between Owen and Teddy earlier that day. "Do you?" Scepticism could be heard in her every word.

"Yes I do," was Owen's firm reply. It broke him to hear the doubt and scepticism in her voice.

"No you don't. Because if you really cared about me, you would go back inside, find Teddy, talk to sponsors and leave me the hell alone," she snapped.

"Cristina..."

"No. Don't Cristina me. You're not allowed to Cristina me. You had a choice. You made it. Live with it." Her voice rose with every word as she rose to leave.

"You haven't called me Owen yet." His voice stopped her in her tracks.

"What?" She spun around, her voice incredulous.

"Since you got back to Seattle, you haven't called me Owen yet. It's always been 'Dr. Hunt', but never Owen," he stated simply as he rose and took a step towards her, closing the distance between them. "Why won't you call me Owen?"

"What? Yes I have. I- We're not talking about this," said Cristina as she avoided the piercing blue eyes that stared with grim determination at her. Her instincts told her to leave, but something held her there.

"Stop running, Cristina." The words were so simple yet so complex, like those three word sentences his shrink has written out years ago. She paused for a second, as brown eyes met blue ones.

"I don't run."

"You don't?"

"No, _Owen_. I don't."

A rugged looking grin appeared on Owen's face as his heart skipped a beat at the use of his first name. He gently took her hand and left her back to the bench where they both sat in silence.

"You left without a word. Why?" asked Owen quietly, his hand still holding firmly onto hers.

'What'd you expect me to do? Hang around and watch you and Teddy?" replied Cristina resentfully.

"But you could have said something at least."

"What's the point? You were happy. I wasn't. I left. Problem solved." The last sentence was a lie. Leaving hadn't solved any of her problems. It had simply provided a temporary escape from reality, from her problems, from her life.

"I'm sorry." They were the only words he could offer although they would never make right what he did to Cristina. He would have said them a thousand times if they held any meaning for her.

"Me too," she admitted, brushing away a stray curl with her free hand. "I should have known we weren't meant for each other." The last bit came out in an almost forced manner as if she was willing herself to believe it was true.

Owen remained silent, not knowing how to respond to this sudden admission from Cristina.

The two sat in an awkward and uncomfortable silence, both at a loss for what to say.

"So," said Owen, trying to make his tone light and conversational.

"So," echoed Cristina.

Then it suddenly struck him. The question he had been dying to ask ever since he saw her in the OR.

"So, you and Avery?" he asked as he tried to sound indifferent.

"What?" she responded in a surprised tone.

"Are you and Avery uh- ...seeing each other?" he asked uncertainly.

"No. He's my friend," she replied frostily. Damn Izzie and her big mouth, she thought.

"Boyfriend?"

"He's a friend. And he's a boy. But he's not my boyfriend." Annoyance had begun to creep into her voice.

Owen let go of the breath he didn't even know he was holding as his shoulders felt instantly lighter.

"Oh."

Cristina rolled her eyes in response as Owen smiled for the second time that evening before settling back against the park bench. A soothing silence fell upon them as they sat there, gazing quietly at the full moon.

"Clear night tonight," Cristina noted.

"One of the few Seattle gets all year," replied Owen as his mind instantly flashed back to the aftermath of their disastrous first date.

* * *

_Flashback _

_Owen was exhausted. He had just finished Sloan's penile repair which had taken longer than expected. The interns who had been giggling up in the OR gallery throughout the entire procedure hadn't helped much either. His mind was still preoccupied on one issue; Cristina. Flashes of what had happened last night still played in his mind. He had arrived completely intoxicated carrying a bunch of orange wilting flowers. He had gotten into her shower completely clothed with his shoes on. He had passed out in her bed naked. It was no wonder she had spent the whole day avoiding him; ducking into stairwells and hiding behind interns whenever he walked by. If the whole situation wasn't so dire, he might have found these tiny gestures cute and amusing. He paused outside the exit of OR 2. Sure enough, Cristina was sitting there on an empty stretcher looked dejected and drained. _

_She didn't notice him walk slowly towards her as she was lost deep in her own thoughts. The weight on the stretcher suddenly shifted as he sat down next to her. She stared directly ahead, too tired to even acknowledge his presence. Shame instantly rippled through him. She deserved a better date than what he had given her. He would make it up to her._

"_I planned a whole evening last night. A real date. It was a clear night. One of the five Seattle gets all year. I was going to take you to the West Point Lighthouse and we were going to watch the Northern Lights together." He paused, looking up to meet her gaze. "I'd like another chance. I want you to give me another chance." She looked at him incredulously._

"_You've got some problems. Some big problems." The slightly surprised look hadn't left her face._

"_Yeah. Yeah I do. You go out with me anyway?" He knew he was pushing his luck, but he wanted that second chance so badly._

_She merely stared at him as his heart began to sink. Blue eyes met brown eyes._

"_Yes."_

_Owen's eyes widened in disbelief as a huge smile crept across his face and a feeling of warmth and contentment reignited within him._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

"Look. It's a shooting star," said Owen as he pointed to a flare of light that moved quickly across the dark sky.

"So?" came Cristina's confused response as she followed his stare at the night sky.

"Most people make wishes on shooting stars."

"That's stupid. It's like basing the outcome of your life on a fortune cookie," said Cristina dismissively as Owen smirked. She hadn't changed much over the two years. She was still the snarky, smart-ass Cristina. For some unknown reason, his arms ached to wrap themselves around her, to hold her again. With an incredible amount of self-restraint, he kept his arms folded tightly across his chest as they both stared at the star-filled sky.

The wind suddenly picked up, filling the air between them with its cold gusts. Cristina shivered involuntarily as her curls danced lightly in the wind as it swirled around them.

Owen was about to shrug out of his jacket, when Cristina placed her hand on his arm gently and stopped him.

"Don't bother. We should go back inside before anyone notices," she said quietly.

"Yeah," replied Owen non-committedly as he rested his hand gently upon hers, warming it with his firm gentle hand.

The warmth from his hand radiated through her skin and travelled up and down her body. An emotion that had been dormant inside of her had woken up. She felt a warm glow filled her chest as she felt a sense of contentment and security for the first time in two years.

Owen too seemed to have experienced the electricity that danced in the air around them. The glow in his chest seemed to get warmer and warmer, flooding his entire body with a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"Let's go," murmured Cristina as she removed her hand gently from his firm grasp.

"Wait, Cristina. One more thing."

She looked at his questioningly, but remained silent.

"I don't want to make you feel like you're obligated or anything, but can we be friends?" asked Owen cautiously, his blue eyes monitoring her face carefully.

Surprise flickered across Cristina's face. This was something she had definitely not been expecting.

"Friends?" she repeated incredulously.

"Only if you want to be," replied Owen quickly as he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest at the expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, Owen. I'll be gone in a few days," said Cristina as gently as she could.

"No. I get it. It's fine." Owen attempted to keep his expression as normal as possible, but it was hard to control the feeling of dejection from spreading.

"Take care now." The words had slipped out of her mouth instinctively as soon as she noticed the dejected expression forming on Owen's face. She regretted her words immediately and cursed her own stupidity.

"What?" The look of dejection had transformed into a look of surprise.

"No. Not like that- I mean- goodbye," said Cristina hurriedly as she turned and walked at a quick pace back to the hospital, trying not to trip in her stupidly high heels, leaving behind a dazed Owen who gaped after her in shock.

* * *

"Yang. Where've you been? Webber's been looking everywhere for you," chided Jackson as she returned back to the hospital lobby.

"Just needed some fresh air," muttered Cristina quickly before the Chief spotted her and rushed over with a herd of sponsors at his heels.

"Ah Dr. Yang and Dr. Avery. This is Mr. Dixon, Mr. Crobons, Ms. Thatos and Mr. Sadler. They're all very interested in the lymphoma surgery you performed yesterday. They're considering funding a project to build up our cardio department."

"Nice to meet you," smiled Cristina as she feigned interest in the conversation.

Her eyes drifted occasionally towards the door, wondering where Owen was. Maybe she had been too harsh, by just leaving without sparing him a second glance. She silently cursed herself for speaking without thinking. The three words had simply slipped out. It had felt so right to say them. Yet, Owen was with Teddy.

"So what do you think, Dr. Yang?" A sponsor's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Sorry what?" She asked confusedly as her mind returned to the present.

"Wouldn't it be a wonderful idea to start a cardiothoracic scholarship program at this hospital?" repeated the sponsor, irritation creeping into their voice.

"Oh yes. It'd be an excellent idea," agreed Cristina, her attention shifting again as her eyes began to drift towards the door again.

* * *

"That was exhausting," complained Cristina as she threw her keys and bag carelessly onto the lounge.

"It wasn't too bad. You'll get use to it. I'd prefer surgery over it though," replied Jackson as he reached inside the fridge and grabbed two beers.

"Thanks," said Cristina as she took a long swig of the beer.

"So how was your day? I heard you had some pretty interesting surgery today."  
"We had a ferryboat accident kid served on a platter with forks, knives and spoons in her chest. The only thing missing was a napkin."

"Complications?" Jackson didn't need to ask about the outcome of the surgery. He knew Cristina's hands were extremely capable and she would have had very little difficulty pulling off a surgery like this.

"About four hours. A fork has penetrated her right atrium which caused a tear. But Owen applied pressure and suctioned while I repaired the tear," informed Cristina, not even noticing that Owen's name had somehow slipped off her tongue. The mention of Owen's name didn't go unnoticed by Jackson whose brows furrowed slightly.

"What about you? Don't tell me you've found another hospital you want to settle down in. I've already lost count," snickered Cristina as she took another swig of her beer.

"Just checking out the other options."

"As usual," Cristina muttered before she headed off to her bedroom.

* * *

It was nearly midnight. Although he wasn't on-call, Owen sat in his office, fiddling with the stack of papers on his desk as his mind drifted off elsewhere. He had contemplated heading back to his apartment, but he needed time and space to think.

'Take care now.' The words echoed over and over again in Owen's head as an image of Cristina's face played before him. Did she really still love him? He dismissed this thought immediately. She was everything a man could ever want; talented and attractive with a feisty attitude. There was no way a woman like her could have stayed single for two years. Yet, when he asked earlier, she had denied having feelings for Avery by responding that they were simply friends. He had believed her then, but now doubt clouded his mind as the conversation he had with Avery last night resurfaced in his mind. Avery could make her happy. He knew that. Yet, he found it impossible to stay away from her. The attraction he felt to her was like the attraction between two oppositely charged magnets in an electric field. She had been by his side through thick and thin. She had been his rock, his foundation, his support. And the one time that she needed someone to lean on, he had backed away. She deserved better than him.

"Hunt. What are you still doing here? It's nearly midnight. Are you on-call?" Owen looked up and Derek leaning casually against the doorway, looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Just had some paperwork," lied Owen quickly.

"Couldn't wait until tomorrow?" asked Derek disbelievingly.

"What are you still doing here?" Owen attempted to steer the conversation away from himself.

"Well, Meredith seems to think that appendectomies are rare," said Derek with a roll of his eyes.

The corners of Owen's mouth lifted slightly and formed a subtle smile.

"Where's Teddy?" asked Derek.

"I think she went back to the apartment," replied Owen, trying to appear indifferent.

"You're avoiding your girlfriend?" Derek's ocean blue eyes danced with amusement.

"I'm not avoiding her. I just need some time to think," Owen defended quickly.

"What's the problem?" He wasted no time getting to the point.

"Just a few things."

"Like Cristina?" challenged Derek.

"No."

Derek raised his eyebrows in disbelief but remained silent.

"She's going to be leaving in three days," said Owen suddenly.

"So? You have Teddy," countered Derek as he shifted his weight off the doorframe and seated himself on the couch beside Owen's desk.

"Forget it." Owen turned his attention back to the files in front of him.

"I remember Meredith said something about Cristina getting a special job offer," hinted Derek purposefully.

"I know about it. Johns Hopkins Hospital." Owen still didn't lift his eyes from the paper.

"Actually, I was talking about the one Richard made her." He waited for his words to sink in.

"What?" Owen's head jerked up immediately. "Webber made her an offer?"

"I thought you knew about it already," mocked Derek.

"Cristina wouldn't take it. She has so much more potential that being just a cardio attending here." As true as his words were, Owen couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in his chest.

"Of course Yang wouldn't take a position as a cardio attending. But I don't think she'd mind being the Head of the Department though," said Derek as he monitored Owen's face intently.

"Webber offered her Head of Cardio?" Owen's voice was incredulous

"That's how I reacted too, but Richard's become desperate even since our rankings dropped to twelfth," shrugged Derek.

"Is she taking it?"

Derek chuckled silently at Owen's bluntness. "I have no idea actually. Meredith won't tell me anything about it. And speaking of Meredith, if you see her, tell her I'm waiting for her in my office," said Derek as he clapped Owen on the back before heading towards the door.

Derek's words had given Owen a lot to think about. Cristina hadn't mentioned anything about a job offer during their talk before. And nor had the Chief mentioned anything about replacing Teddy when her contract expired either. He sighed loudly. He wouldn't be able to sleep with this much on his mind.

* * *

_BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP._

The sound of an alarm clock blared loudly from somewhere beside Cristina.

"Turn it off. Turn it off," she groaned as her hands wandered on her bedside table trying to silence the offending machine. When they had no success at locating the source of the disturbance, she instead grabbed a pillow and hid her head under it as she tried to block out the noise.

"Thought you hate it when I don't wake you up," mocked a voice from beside her. Even without looking up, she could hear the smirk in Jackson's voice.

"Turn it off," she begged as her grip on the pillow tightened.

"Turn it off what?" Jackson teased.

"Turn it off please. There. I said it. Now turn the goddamn thing off," pleaded Cristina.

"Time to rise and shine, Yang," said Jackson as he reached into the drawer beside Cristina and removed the batteries of the offending alarm clock.

"No. Go away. I need sleep." Her voice was muffled her grip on the pillow hadn't loosened.

"You have to round on your post-op patients. And the Chief's offering you a valve transplant surgery at eleven."

At the mention of surgery, Cristina sat up instantly.

"Pig or cow?" she asked.

"What?"

"Porcine or bovine?" Cristina repeated.

"Bovine, I think. So you're in?"

"Would I ever say no to surgery?" retorted Cristina as she collapsed back onto her bed, soaking up its warmth.

"See you in twenty minutes then," said Jackson before leaving the room.

As soon as Jackson left the room, Cristina's hand snaked under her blankets and pulled out a severely crinkled green-brown jacket. She buried her head in it, filling her nostrils with its extremely enticing scent. Owen's scent. A restorative night of sleep had cleared her mind. She hadn't moved on. She loved Owen. She'd always loved Owen. But Owen loved Teddy now. He was happy with Teddy now. Cristina had never understood the concept of sacrifice before, but now lying there she did. She couldn't take Owen's happiness away from him, even if it meant living with a feeling of emptiness inside of her for the rest of her life. She sighed loudly before she rolled off the bed, leaving the jacket lying in a crumpled mess on her pillow.

"You slept here?" laughed Derek from the doorway, amusement in his voice.

At the sound of his voice, Owen jerked awake with his arms flailing, knocking paper and pens all over the floor.

"What? Where?" He panted heavily, looking around in confusion.

"Hunt?" Derek's face had changed from amusement to concern.

"Shepherd," said Owen as he tried to get his breath under control.

"You still have nightmares." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Just the occasional one," replied Owen dismissively.

"Doesn't seem like it," Derek remarked as he folded his arms defiantly.

"Drop it, Shepherd."

"When was the last time you saw Dr. Wyatt?"

Owen chose to ignore the question, instead choosing to stare intently out the window.

"Post traumatic stress disorder is serious. The effects of it are serious. You need help," continued Derek as he stepped cautiously forward.

"It's been two years since I've seen Wyatt," admitted Owen as he avoided Derek's piercing stare.

"Really?"

"Teddy thinks I should go, but she doesn't want to push me," said Owen as he answered Derek's unasked question.

"You should consider going. PSTD is fuelled by avoidance and denial."

"When'd you become a psychiatrist?" joked Owen lightly before he bent down and began retrieving the paper and pens that were scattered across the floor.

"It comes with having a dark and twisty girlfriend," smirked Derek before he joined Owen in retrieving the stationary.

* * *

"I heard you have a valve replacement today. Can I scrub in on it?" asked Alex as he joined Cristina and George in the elevator.

"What?"

"If he gets in, I want in too," called George from the back of the elevator.

"Mocha latte?" offered Alex and held out a cup under Cristina's nose.

"Don't you all have something better to do?" grumbled Cristina and she grudgingly accepted the coffee from Alex's outstretched hand.

"Nope. I'd take hearts over vaginas any day."

"Still on gynie patrol?" Cristina mocked before she sipped at the hot coffee.

"Least you're not on clinic duty today," mumbled George.

"That's what interns are for. So can I?" retorted Alex.

"Fine. Alex you can scrub in on the valve replacement today."

"Yes!"

"But only if you finish my post-ops reports," added Cristina quickly.

"Done." They shook hands to seal the deal.

"No fair," complained George.

"He had a mocha latte," was Cristina's reply before they got off the elevator.

* * *

After she sent Alex to retrieve Sarah Blakes' chart, she headed quickly towards Andrea Kelps' room.

"Cristina." She didn't need to turn to know who the voice belonged to.

"Dr. Hunt," she acknowledged without turning around.

"Are we back to formalities?" he said as he lengthened his strides and caught up to her.

"No. We're just being professional." She looked straight ahead barely acknowledging his presence.

"Can't we be professional without the formalities?"

"Why are you following me?"

"Andrea Kelps is my patient too," he said pointedly as they neared the patient's room.

With no comeback to this, Cristina decided to remain silent as they entered the room.

Lexie and Arizona were already standing there.

"Dr. Yang, Dr. Hunt," acknowledged Arizona as they entered. "Dr. Grey, present."

"Andrea Kelps. Six years old. Internal bleeding and severe trauma to the upper chest. Aortic repair performed by Dr. Yang. Heart rate and BP has been stable overnight. Temp spiked to 102oF at around three this morning. This suggests a post-op fever," informed Lexie.

"Recommended course of treatment?"

"Antibiotics and hourly reports."

"Good work, Dr. Grey. Start her on the antibiotics now and let me know how it goes."

"Is she going to be okay?" asked the mother worriedly.

"Your daughter is going to be just fine," smiled Arizona before motioning for Owen and Cristina to follow her out of the room. "Has the mother talked to the police yet?"

"No. She's refused to leave her daughter's bed side yet. The police just want to how the utensils ended up stuck in the child's chest," replied Owen quickly.

"Yeah well so would I," muttered Cristina to no one particularly.

Arizona pursed her lips slightly at Cristina's comment but decided to remain silent whilst the corners of Owen's lips lifted slightly as he barely managed to conceal a smile.

"I have other post-ops to check on. Tell Dr. Grey to page me if anything happens." With that, Arizona excused herself as her pager went off.

"Stop following me," muttered Cristina as she headed off too.

"Do you want to grab a coffee?" asked Owen, unfazed by her coldness.

"No. I have a patient to check on," Cristina said as she walked off.

"I can wait," said Owen patiently.

"Go away." She quickened her pace towards to elevator.

She felt a firm grip on her arm as she found herself being steered into the nearest supply closet.

"What are you doing?" She tore her arm from his strong grip and she found herself staring into a pair of agonized blue eyes.

"I'm trying, Cristina. I'm trying to make it right what I did to you. Can't you see that? I'm just trying to make it right." The stare radiating from the blue eyes had intensified with every word as Cristina found herself getting lost in the depth of them.

"You can't," she replied simply.

"At least let me explain why-"

Cristina cut him off.

"No. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear you tell me why I wasn't enough for you. I don't want to hear you tell me why we didn't work out. I don't want to hear it. Unless it has nothing to do with us, I don't want to hear it." Her voice grew louder and louder with each word.

Owen ran his hands threw his auburn hair in frustration. He was at a loss of what to say.

"It's not about us. It's about what happened to us. What happened to me." He struggled for the correct words to express himself. "I can't do this anymore. I can't ignore what happened to us." His ocean blue eyes grew dark and stormy.

"Speak English, Owen."

"I never told you why I chose Teddy." He shoved his hands deep into his lab coat pockets as it became his turn to avoid her questioning stare.

"What are you trying to say?" Part of Cristina told her to run, yet there was a part which told her to stay.

"Remember the day I asked if I could take you somewhere special after work?" asked Owen cautiously.

As if it was possible to forget that night, thought Cristina as she nodded numbly. That was the night that everything changed.


	11. Chapter 11: Empathy

_"Remember the day I asked if I could take you somewhere special after work?" asked Owen cautiously._

_As if it was possible to forget that night, thought Cristina as she nodded numbly. That was the night that everything changed._

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Owen!" Teddy's voice rang from somewhere behind him._

"_Hey Teddy," he turned around slowly and flashed her a quick smile._

"_Can I talk to you?" She looked extremely uncomfortable._

"_Only if you make it quick. I'm meeting Cristina later," Owen replied as the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly at the thought of seeing Cristina. This didn't go unnoticed by Teddy who shifted slightly awkwardly._

"_Can we go somewhere more private?" _

"_Is everything okay?" asked Owen warily as he followed her into an empty on-call room, shutting the door quietly behind him."Teddy?"_

"_I'm pregnant," she blurted out as she reached into the pockets of her lab coat and retrieve three different looking pregnancy sticks._

_A plus sign. A pink circle. A blue tick._

"_They're all positive," said Owen after a pause. "So who's the father? Sloan? I thought he was with Little Grey," he pressed cautiously._

_At that, she simply looked at him silently. An awkward silence settled upon the pair as the amount of tension in the room escalated._

"_No. We've never-." The ability to properly formulate sentences was gone as Owen stared wordlessly at the three pregnancy tests in Teddy's hands. Owen took a sharp intake of breath as a particular memory resurfaced in his mind."It can't be. I don't remember anything from that night. We had a few drinks. That's all." That night, Meredith had borrowed Cristina for a 'freak-out' night so Teddy had invited him for drinks at her place for old times' sake which he had agreed to reluctantly. He remembered nothing from that night. But he recalled waking up with a huge hangover, lying completely naked next to Teddy. They had both mutually agreed that nothing had happened. But now, standing there staring at the pregnancy tests in Teddy's hands, he wasn't so sure. Surely Teddy must have slept with someone else._

"_Me and Mike used protection," said Teddy, answering his unasked question._

"_Mike?"_

"_One night stand."_

_Owen stood there as an entire range of emotions flickered across his face. Finally, one settled on his face. Determination._

_End of Flashback_

Shock rooted Cristina to the ground as she tried to digest this piece of information. Owen stood beside her, his senses fully alert as he monitored Cristina's facial expressions closely.

"What happened?" she asked abruptly.

"What?"

"What happened to the-" She couldn't bring herself to say the word 'child.'

"Teddy miscarried two months into the pregnancy," replied Owen quietly, still not taking his eyes off her.

An uncomfortable blanket of silence descended upon them.

"Say something, Cristina," he pleaded as the silence became too much to bear.

"What do you want me to say?" snapped Cristina suddenly.

"Anything." The words had slipped carelessly out of his mouth.

"You cheated on me. You knocked up your best friend. You lied and broke up with me. Then you waited two years to tell me the truth. There is nothing to talk about."

"I just bared my soul to you."

"That's not enough." With that, she turned and left, slamming the door on her way out.

Cristina's mind was spinning from the numerous thoughts that overwhelmed her mind. Her instincts told her to pack everything and flee from Seattle.

"Yang!" Alex's voice came from somewhere behind her. "Where've you been? I've been looking everywhere for you. We've got the final post-op assessment of the lymphoma patient remember?"

Cristina didn't seem to have heard a single word Alex said as she stared ahead blankly.

"Where's Meredith?" she asked, her voice completely devoid of emotion.

"What? Dude, we have to check up on the patient 'cause the valve transplant is in half an hour," said Alex in a clearly exasperated voice.

"Altman can do it. Where the hell is Meredith?" Frustration began to fill Cristina's voice.

"She's helping George out in the clinic," replied Alex quickly as he caught onto her mood.

"Find Altman. Get her to round on the lymphoma case. Then scrub in with her for the valve transplant," directed Cristina before she walked at a controlled and restrained pace towards the clinic leaving behind a stunned Alex.

"Cristina. Aren't you meant to be doing a valve replacement with Alex right now?" asked a puzzled-looking Meredith. "What are you doing here in the clinic?"

"I'm leaving." The words slipped out of her mouth.

"You're what?" Shock had covered every inch of Meredith's face.

"I'm catching the next flight out of Seattle."

"Talk to me, Cristina," pleaded Meredith as her face creased with worry.

"I can't do this. I can't. I need to get out of here."

"Wait here. I'll help you pack. Let me get George to cover for me first," said Meredith quickly as she hurried off.

* * *

"Dude. You're girlfriend's acting weird," said Alex as he passed Jackson in the hospital corridors.

"She's not my girlfriend. And aren't you meant to be scrubbing in with her right now?" Confusion flickered across Jackson's face.

"She was like totally freaking out. Have you seen Altman? Yang told me to find Altman and scrub in with her instead," replied Alex dismissively.

"What? So where's she now?" Jackson's confusion quickly transformed into worry.

"Dunno. Probably the clinic. She was asking for Meredith. It was pretty scary. Her face was emotionless. Looked like she was a robot or something," laughed Alex.

Upon hearing the word 'emotionless', Jackson immediately took off down the busy OR hallway at a run.

"What the hell?" said Alex as he watched Jackson disappear at a record-breaking speed around the corner.

"O'Malley. Have you see Cristina or Meredith?" panted Jackson as he skidded to a stop in front of the clinic's main desk.

"Meredith just left with Cristina. Why?"

"Where'd they go?" Jackson asked impatiently.

"I don't know. Meredith just asked me to cover for her," George called to Jackson's disappearing back.

* * *

Clothing and suitcases covered every inch of Cristina's bedroom as Meredith and Cristina sped around the place grabbing everything within reach and tossing it into the open suitcases. The plane ticket she had booked just minutes ago sat beside Owen's jacket which lay crinkled and forgotten on the crumpled unmade bed as the two women packed hurriedly.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Meredith as she roughly folded a pair of jeans before shoving them into a suitcase.

"Can we not talk and just pack?" Cristina's face was completely devoid of any emotion as her hands moved in a uniform pattern; grab, fold, toss.

"I'm worried about you. You can't just announce you're leaving and expect me to drop it," argued Meredith.

"Watch me."

"You've only been here for two days. Your lymphoma patient isn't even in the all-clear. And last night you were actually seriously considering the Chief's offer as Head of Cardio. What happened?" Meredith persisted as she shoved another item of clothing into Cristina's suitcase.

"I don't want to talk about it." Cristina's voice rose as she zipped up her messily packed suitcase. "I just need to get away from all this."

"Get away from what?" Jackson's clipped tones rang from the doorway as both women looked up.

"Nothing," replied Cristina quickly as she clumsily pulled her suitcases towards the door.

"What did Hunt do?" His voice didn't change.

"Nothing. Now, move," Cristina retorted as she struggled to push past Jackson with her tightly packed suitcases.

Jackson didn't move or step aside, instead he held his ground.

"I'm not moving until you tell me what happened." He folded his arms tightly across his chest as his emerald green eyes glinted with determination.

"Get out of my way."

"No." He refused to budge an inch.

Cristina turned around abruptly and faced Meredith as a thought suddenly hit her.

"Did you know, Meredith?"

"Know what?" Confusion filled Meredith's voice.

"Did you know about the child?" Cristina's voice was completely cold and emotionless.

"What child?" interjected Jackson quickly.

Cristina didn't reply as she stared wordlessly at Meredith expecting an answer.

"I heard it from Derek a few weeks after you left," replied Meredith quietly, her eyes downcast.

"And you never thought to mention it to me at all?" Anger surged through Cristina like an electric current as she turned and faced Meredith.

"You'd left already. You weren't going to come back no matter what I said."

"What child? What are we talking about?" asked Jackson, his eyes flickering back and forth between the two women.

"Meredith can tell you," replied Cristina coldly as her brown eyes hardened.

"There's nothing to tell," said Meredith quickly.

Cristina snorted loudly at this statement.

"What are we talking about?" Jackson persisted. He was getting tired of this evasiveness.

"Teddy was pregnant with Owen's child two years ago when you two left," said Meredith quietly, her eyes unable to meet Jackson's or Cristina's.

"What?" Jackson's voice was laced with shock as his green eyes widened in surprise.

"Don't feel left out. I had no idea either." The biting sarcasm in Cristina's words only further emphasised the emotionless tone of her voice.

"What?" he repeated, unable to digest this piece of information.

"I know. At least he didn't break up with you and lie about it," remarked Cristina bitterly. "See you in Boston." She pulled her suitcases past the frozen Jackson who stood there wordlessly, grabbing her passport and plane ticket on the way out. Meredith simply stood there and watched as Cristina disappeared out the door.

* * *

"Where to?" asked the cab driver as he helped Cristina load her suitcases into the boot of the cab.

"Seattle Tacoma International Airport." The cab driver was slightly taken aback at her cold, emotionless tone, but remained silent as he entered the location into the GPS.

Although her face remained mostly emotionless, her mind spun with thoughts as the rainy streets of Seattle sped past her. The rain that had been gently tapping against the window now pelted against it as large droplets of water raced each other down the cold thin glass.

Tears also slid silently down Cristina's face, leaving behind barely visible trails of moisture. As a train of thoughts ran through her mind, a range of emotions flickered across her face. Shock still flowed through her as she was still unable to stomach the information Owen had told her. How could she not have noticed? Had she really been the blind and trusting ignorant girlfriend who failed to notice her boyfriend was cheating on her? She loves Owen. No, she loved Owen. But what he had done was past all forms of forgiveness, she thought bitterly as she peered out the rain-streaked window.

Out of the blue, a car travelling in the opposite lane swerved suddenly, colliding loudly with a bang with the car in front of them. The cab driver stepped quickly onto the brakes, but it was too late. Cristina found herself being thrown forward. A searing pain ran up her arm as it came into contact with the rough edge on the door. If it weren't for the seatbelt that held her back, she would have flown head first through the windscreen.

Blood trickled gently from the laceration on her arm. She winced slightly as she attempted to wipe it away with her sleeve. She glanced quickly at the front seat where the driver was sitting. Blood flowed freely from the wound on his head as he lay there, slumped over the steering wheel of the car. The emotional depressed Cristina disappeared as it was replaced with the calm, collected doctor Cristina.

"Sir? Sir, can you hear me?" she called loudly as she unbuckled her seatbelt, reaching forward to get a better look at the driver. He was unconscious. She cursed silently before she opened her passenger seat door and stumbled out of the slightly battered cab.

All the traffic around her had come to a stop. A total of four cars had been directly affected by the crash. A few people who were unaffected by the crash had gotten out of their cars and had phones pressed to their ears, presumably calling for help. Then, a movement in the corner of her peripheral vision froze her in her tracks.

A young girl, no older than seven or eight, knelt beside the car wreck as her tiny hands became completely bloodstained as she tried desperately to keep the chest closed of the unconscious man who lay there.

"Someone help. Help." The girl's voice echoed around the scene, unheard by Cristina as she was overwhelmed with the feeling of déjà vu.

Nineteen years ago, she had been the one in the same position; kneeling beside her father's barely breathing form as she waited for help to arrive, her small hands barely managing to keep his chest closed. _Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump. _She had held his fading heart in her hands in a vain attempt to keep it beating and pumping. She had felt it stop beating in her very own hands.

"Help. Someone help." The girl's voice rang loudly in front of her as she snapped back to reality.

"Here let me take over," said Cristina quickly as her bigger hands replaced the child's smaller, ineffectual ones.

Blood still flowed freely from the man's chest cavity despite Cristina's best efforts. She felt another onset of déjà vu as her hands sensed the weakening pulse of the man's heart. "Hang in there, Sir," she murmured quietly, strengthening her efforts to keep the wound closed.

Soon, sirens could be heard blaring in the distance as they brushed past the frozen traffic towards the scene of the accident. The ambulance doors burst open as a pair of paramedics rushed out.

"What's your name?" asked a paramedic as he tried unsuccessfully to move Cristina from the man's side.

"Yang. Cristina Yang. I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon," she informed quickly as she held her ground.

"Dr. Yang. We need you to let us take care of this man. You have a slight laceration to your upper left arm which we need to treat."

"No. This man needs surgery immediately or he's going to die from blood loss. He's already put out a litre or so of blood," argued Cristina.

Sensing that there was no point in arguing with her, the paramedic quickly conceded. "Alright. Get him on a stretcher and call Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital and tell them we're on our way in," yelled the paramedic to his partner as a stretcher was quickly brought out from the back of the ambulance. The girl followed them wordlessly, her bloodstained hands hung by her sides.

"What's his name?" quizzed the paramedic as the ambulance sped towards the hospital.

"I don't know. He's a John Doe." Frustration was beginning to fill Cristina's voice. She could feel the man's heart weakening by the second.

"What's your name, kid?" asked the paramedic gently as he turned to face the child.

"Louise." Her voice was soft, and barely audible above the sound of the sirens blaring above them.

"Do you know what this man's name is?" The gentle patronising tone of the paramedic did not change.

"He's my Dad," came the quiet reply from the child whose eyes did not move from the unconscious body lying on the stretcher.

"What's your daddy's name, sweetie?" repeated the paramedic.

The child remained silent, her eyes fixed upon Cristina's hands which were stuck inside the man's chest.

"Louise. I'm going to need you to-" the paramedic persisted. Cristina cut him off.

"Will you just leave the kid alone? Write down John Doe for now." Frustration laced her voice as the painful recollection of a similar incident nineteen years ago resurfaced in her mind.

Although the paramedic raised his eyebrows in annoyance and surprise, he remained silent as he quickly filled out the form.

* * *

The usually calming gusts of the vent swirled uselessly around him as he stood there, lost deep in thought. He had expected Cristina to be annoyed and angry, not empty and completely devoid of emotion. The final fleeting look she had given him before she slammed the door in the supply closet played on his mind. It looked completely cold and unforgiving. He didn't expect her to forgive him. In fact, he'd be rather surprised if she ever did. He ran a hand through his tousled red hair and sighed loudly. He regretted his spur-of-the-moment decision to tell her. Why did he do such an idiotic thing? He always acted before thinking of the consequences and now, he had to live with them. He sighed loudly again. What about Teddy? Although he hadn't actually done anything wrong, he felt like he was cheating on Teddy every time he looked at Cristina, every time he talked to Cristina and every time he thought about Cristina. The guilt of this was chewing away at his conscience. Teddy was great. She was easy on the eyes, a talented surgeon and smart, but she wasn't snarky, feisty or sophisticated. She just wasn't Cristina. This thought hit him like a ton of bricks as more strong gusts of wind began to blow from the vent. Before he could continue pondering this thought any further, his pager beeped loudly. _911 Ambulance Bay._ He quickly donned his white coat which was sitting by the door and walked at a brisk pace towards the trauma bay, his mind filled with thoughts.

"Can't we go any faster?" asked Cristina impatiently. She could already feel the patient fading away slowly.

"We're already going as fast as we can," reassured the paramedic driving the ambulance.

"This man is going to die without surgery," retorted Cristina as frustration began to leak into her voice.

"I can assure you we are already going as fast as we can. We're nearly there."

"Don't die, daddy," whispered Louise quietly.

"Dr. Hunt. What do we have?" asked the Chief as he joined the team of doctors in the trauma bay.

"There was a traffic accident. A man in his late thirties with severe open chest wounds and foreign objects lodged in his abdomen. There's also a woman in her late twenties with a slight laceration to her arm and a child with some bruising and lacerations too. Ambulance is on its way it," informed Owen as he quickly tied up the strings of his trauma gown.

"The whole family is riding together in the one ambulance?" Webber raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Apparently so," replied Owen.

"Alright. Stevens, you can take care of the woman and the child. Hunt, have you paged cardio yet? And get one of the nurses to prep an OR."

"Dr. Altman is still in surgery. Dr. Hepburn is also in surgery. Should I page Dr. Yang?" Owen reached to grab his pager.

"Don't bother." Jackson's voice rang from across the trauma bay as heads turned and stared.

"What?" Surprise and annoyance could be heard in Webber's voice as he turned to face Jackson. The silence that descended upon everyone in the ambulance bay was deafening.

"Don't bother paging Cristina. She's gone. Probably already on a plane out of Seattle by now." Although his words were meant for the Chief, his emerald green eyes glared intensely at Owen.

"She's gone?" repeated the Chief incredulously.

"Unfortunately, her presence was required elsewhere," lied Jackson fluently, his gaze didn't shift away from Owen. This did not go unnoticed by the Chief.

"Hunt. I want a word with you later," growled the Chief as he moved to the join Bailey on the other side of the ambulance bay.

"Cristina's actually gone?" Izzie hadn't moved from her position beside the entrance as she stared at Jackson in shock.

Before Jackson could reply, the wailing of sirens could be heard as an ambulance rounded the corner at neck-breaking speeds and screeched to a stop in front of them. They quickly positioned themselves around the back doors of the ambulance, preparing to transfer the patient onto the waiting hospital stretcher.

Everyone in the trauma bay froze momentarily as the doors swung open and Owen's sharp intake of breath could be heard as Cristina Yang stumbled out of the ambulance with her hands submerged in a man's chest.

The Chief was the first to snap out of this moment of temporary shock.

"Avery, Bailey and Hunt. Get the man onto a stretcher and into an OR now. Stevens, take care of the girl. And Yang, Avery will take over. You'll need stitches for that laceration." His authoritative voice rang loudly in the ambulance bay causing everyone to snap out of their initial shock.

"Actually Sir. This man needs-" Webber cut across Cristina.

"I don't have time to argue, Yang. We have more ambulances on their way in. Avery will take over," he said with an air of finality.

"Are you okay?" Jackson asked Cristina quietly as Owen watched on silently.

Cristina nodded in response. "Don't let him die," she murmured to Jackson as she felt his hands replace hers in the man's chest.

"I won't," he promised before he and Owen took off at a run towards the OR. Owen turned as he ran, his electric blue eyes stared intensely into Cristina's brown ones before he disappeared through the hospital doors.

Cristina stared after them as she began to experience some light-headedness as she felt her knees begin to give way under her. Luckily, Webber caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Looks like you're suffering from blood loss," remarked Webber as he gently stabilized Cristina against the wall. "Stevens. Take care of Yang and the kid. Once you're done, head to OR 2 and give Bailey a hand," he called as Izzie hurried over.

"Let's go," said Izzie quickly as she steered the kid and Cristina towards the entrance of the hospital.

* * *

The next four hours that Owen spent in the OR with Jackson were probably the most awkward ones of his life. When Jackson's eyes weren't focused intently on the man's damaged heart, they were sending death glares in Owen's direction. Owen had decided to ignore them at first, but found soon found them to be extremely disconcerting. He was grateful when Bailey had decided to intervene.

"Dr. Avery. Is Dr. Hunt's face more interesting than this man's chest?" snapped Bailey, breaking the uncomfortable silence in the OR.

"No ma'am," came Jackson's polite reply although his eyes seemed to say the exact opposite.

"Doesn't seem like it," retorted Bailey as she carefully extracted a piece of metal from the man's abdomen.

In response to this, Jackson shifted his eyes almost unwillingly as he grabbed returned the scalpel to the tray of instruments with an unnecessary amount of force.

* * *

Izzie quickly sutured and stitched up both Cristina and the girl's lacerations and had offered to stay with them instead of scrubbing in, but Cristina had insisted she and the kid would be fine. The nurses also offered to stay with the child if Cristina had something else to do, but Cristina had turned down their offer instead requesting a deck of cards and a packet of gummy bears.

"Two fours," said Louise as she placed two cards face down onto the pile.

"Four threes," replied Cristina as she added a set of cards to the pile.

"Cheat," Louise called as she reached to flip the cards over. Instead of the four threes Cristina had supposedly put there, the cards were flipped to reveal a strange assortment of aces and jacks.

"Damn," muttered Cristina as she reached to retrieve the pile while Louise grinned cheekily.

"Is my Dad going to be okay?" she asked as Cristina sorted out her increasingly large pile of cards.

"I don't know," Cristina admitted as she selected two cards from her pile. "Two eights."

"Cheat," called the girl immediately as she flipped the cards again. This time, there were actually two eights rather than the usual random collection of cards Cristina would usually play.

"Ha," came Cristina's mocking voice as she watched the girl pick up the two meagre cards.

"I only picked up two cards. You picked up fifteen last time," the girl shot back as she quickly added the two eights to her neatly organised hand.

"So? At least I won, kid," continued Cristina, poking her tongue out at the girl. Although she knew it was an extremely immature thing to do, she couldn't help herself. The girl merely rolled her eyes in response.

"You're arguing with kids now?" mocked a familiar voice from behind her.

Cristina turned around with her tongue still sticking out and found herself face to face with an amused-looking Dr. Bailey. Immediately, her tongue slid back into her mouth and the victorious expression that dominated her face seconds ago was replaced with one of shock.

"Releasing your inner child, Yang?" continued Bailey who still wore the light blue surgical gown.

"How's John Doe?" said Cristina quickly, sneaking a look at the child.

"He's holding stable. Avery and Hunt are still repairing the damage done to his chest, but he's stable."

"Good. Why's it taking so long?" Cristina persisted cautiously.

"It'd take less time if your fan club acted more like doctors instead of pubescent school boys," replied Bailey as she rolled her eyes.

"I have noth-" began Cristina but Bailey cut across her.

"I don't want to know," interjected Bailey, holding up a hand. "I'm heading back to the OR since Stevens is probably having a hard time controlling your fan club," she smirked before she turned and headed back to the OR leaving Cristina to stare indignantly after her.

"So who's your fan club?" asked Louise who grinned innocently beside Cristina. This question earned her a glare in response.

* * *

Four rounds later, Cristina had accumulated over fourty-two cards in her hand and was having a hard time sorting them in order.

"Hurry up," complained Louise as she held her small hand of cards.

"Wait. I'm sorting them," Cristina replied as she struggled to hold the surprisingly large pile of cards in her hand. Suddenly, her pager sounded. _OR 2 STAT._ "Wait here, kid. I'll be back soon," she said as she donned her white coat and headed off at a run towards OR 2. After scrubbing in at a record speed, she grabbed a surgical mask and tied it on hurriedly as she burst into the operating room.

"What's happened?" she asked as she moved closer to the operating table.

"He's got a huge embolism and I can't seem to find where it is," informed Jackson, barely glancing up from the man's chest cavity. "His heart's failing."

"Have you tried a coronary artery bypass to clear it?" quizzed Cristina as she quickly slipped into a surgical gown and gloves.

"Yes, but his heart is too weak and my stitches aren't holding," Jackson replied as he passed Cristina the needle and a pair of forceps.

"Dammit," swore Cristina as the man began to flat line. "Pass me the paddles," she yelled, struggling to revive the man. "Charge to one hundred. Come on, come on." She shocked the heart again. "Charge to one twenty."

The monitors came to life again, beeping at a slow but regular pace.

"We have a pulse. It's weak, but it's there." She let out a sigh of relief as she returned the paddles to the scrub nurse.

"Eighteen gauge needle please," requested Cristina as she began locating the embolism. "There. Got it," she said as she slowly pulled the needle out from the man's heart.

Owen had remained quiet throughout the whole time as he watched her work. She didn't seem to have noticed or acknowledged his presence. He wondered what Cristina was thinking behind that cool professional exterior she was projecting.

"Jackson, can you close up? The kid's probably swapped all my good cards by now," said Cristina dismissively as she passed the forceps back to Jackson.

"You're playing cards with the kid?" smirked Jackson.

"Update me when you're done," Cristina replied as she chose to ignore his comment. She walked out of the OR, ignoring the tortured blue eyes which stared after her.

"Your dad's doing fine, kiddo," said Cristina as she took her seat beside Louise.

"He's not going to die?"

"I don't think so." Cristina began to shuffle the cards and deal them again.

"Thanks," said Louise suddenly as she reached to grab her pile of cards.

"For what?" asked Cristina as she placed a card on the table in front of them. "One eight."

"For saving my dad," came Louise's matter-of-fact reply as she finished sorting out her cards. "Three sevens."

Cristina was about to reply when the OR doors opened and Jackson walked out.

"The man's out of surgery. The anaesthesia hasn't worn off, but the kid can go see him if she wants to. I can get one of the nurses to take her," he offered.

"Okay." Cristina replied as she motioned for one of the nurses to come over. She turned to Louise. "Your dad's out of surgery, so you can see him. We'll finish playing cards later," Cristina said before handing her over to the nurse.

"You okay?" asked Jackson.

"I'm fine." Cristina waved her hand dismissively. Jackson raised his eyebrows disbelievingly, but decided to remain silent.

"The police want to talk with you later about the crash. They're still trying to figure out what happened," said Jackson casually.

"Do I have to?" groaned Cristina. She had no intention of recounting the events of that afternoon as the memories it opened wounds from her childhood that would never properly healed.

"I could tell them to talk with you later if you want," he offered, noting the pained look on Cristina's face.

"No it's fine. I'll talk to them now actually," said Cristina offhandedly as she picked up her white coat.

"They're in the conference room near the nurses' station the second floor. Are you sure you're okay with this?" Jackson asked with a look of concern.

"Why wouldn't I be?" retorted Cristina before she headed off towards the elevators.

* * *

The twenty-seven minutes that Cristina spent in the conference room were probably the most painful of her life. She had to relive the entire accident in front of two policemen as they jotted down notes and asked more questions. The feeling of déjà vu had become increasingly overpowering as the minutes ticked by. Finally, when the officers thanked her for her time, she immediately sprung up and headed off towards the nearest on-call room as fast as her legs could carry her. Pain rippled through her body as memories of the accident from nineteen years ago resurfaced in her mind. _Her father's bloodied face as she tried to stop him from bleeding out, the police interrogations that followed the incident, the paramedic's face as he called time of death on her father_. Her mind couldn't handle any more of it.

* * *

Owen had been charting at the nurses' station when he saw amess of black curls emerge from the conference room, clearly distressed. His eyes followed her as she headed off into the nearest on-call room as he fought the desire to follow her. Desire had clearly won as he found himself walking quickly towards the on-call room. Standing inside was Cristina whose body was shaking as she struggled to breathe through her sobs.

"Cristina." Owen's voice was filled with concern as he edged closer to her.

"Leave me alone," sobbed Cristina as she moved further away from Owen.

"It's okay. It's okay," soothed Owen who stepped towards her.

"Go away. I can't do this now," she gasped as she struggled to breathe.

"You're having a stress attack," said Owen softly as he countered her attempts to move away from him by stepping forward. He quickly locked his arms around Cristina's tiny frame. "I'm applying deep pressure. You're going to feel more panic at first and you'll try to resist it, but eventually you'll feel your pulse rate slow. Your breath will come easier," he murmured gently into her ear as he held on tightly despite her attempts at throwing him off. His mind began to drift off as he felt a sense of déjà vu mixed with contentment as his mind flashed back to a similar incident just over two years ago. Cristina being in his arms felt so right and so perfect. It was in that moment he knew what he felt for Teddy was nothing compared to what he truly felt for Cristina.


	12. Chapter 12: Epiphanies

_Dedicated to **Chiph** who motivated me to hurry up and post a chapter. _

* * *

The stress from the car crash had began to take its toll on Cristina as she found her eyelids growing heavier and heavier by the second. She didn't have the energy to throw off the arms that held her, especially when she felt so secure and safe in them. Eventually, she lost the battle with sleep and found herself succumbing to it as everything around her suddenly went dark.

Owen felt her grow heavier in his arms as she slowly drifted into a deep sleep. He cradled her gently as moved her as softly as he could towards the velvet sheets of the bed in the on-call room. Laying her down tenderly, he reached out with one hand as slowly pulled the blankets over her before tucking a stray curl behind her ear. He sat there beside her sleeping form, one hand lingering on her curls enjoying their soft velvety touch while his other hand softly caressed the silky skin on the back of her smaller hand. Lost in the tranquillity of the moment, he felt complete and wholesome again as a memory from two years ago resurfaced in his mind.

_Flashback_

_The bitter wind that swirled around him as he sat outside on the bench near the empty ambulance bay was nothing compared to the cold emptiness he experienced growing within him. 'She's gone.' Meredith's words sounded hollow as they echoed over and over again in his head. He had searched vainly in every on-call room, every exam room and every supply closet in the hospital for the mess of ebony curls, but he had found nothing. Finally, exhausted both mentally and physically, he collapsed dejectedly onto a cold metal bench. It felt like Cristina had taken a chunk of him with her when she left. He had expected annoyance, anger and outrage from her, not a sudden departure. He ran his hand roughly through his tousled red hair. He wanted to feel angry at Cristina for leaving without a word, angry at Teddy for everything, but he couldn't. His bottled up rage was all directed to himself. He was the one to blame for the disappearance of his own happily-ever-after. He deserved no better than this. Yet he couldn't help, but feel a sense of indescribable loss growing within him. _

_End of Flashback_

He wondered silently if this was going to be the last time he saw Cristina before she left again. He wouldn't blame her for leaving. He _couldn't_ blame her. He sighed softly as his mind ran over the milestones of their previous relationship. Everything had been perfect; they had been so carefree and happy. How did they get from there to where they were today? How did everything become so messed up? She had almost walked out from his life today for the second time. He remembered their plans of moving in together, of _starting a life together_, a family even.

And _the ring_. It still lay in its red velvet case, stowed away in the back of his socks drawer. He had never gotten around to getting rid of it. He couldn't get rid of it. Although it held reminders of many painful memories, it also reminded him of what could have, and would have been. That fateful night, he had planned to propose. He had planned on taking her to the WestPoint Lighthouse where they would have watched the Northern Lights together before they sealed the start of a future with a ring. Their future. The thought of what could have been caused Owen's heart to twinge with pain like someone had stabbed it with a scalpel. In the two years he and Teddy had been together, he had never felt such a strong urge to start and create a future with someone. Teddy had occasionally brought up the subject of marriage casually, but Owen had never considered the idea seriously. And now he understood why. There was and only ever had been one person he wanted to build a future with. And that person was Cristina. This rekindled a small yet warm feeling of hope in his chest, warming him to the tips of his fingers. At this major turning point, armed with a compass of morals and the map of his heart, he now had a choice to make.

* * *

Teddy had seen Owen glance up to see a clearly-distressed Cristina duck into a nearby on-call room. She had watched on, waiting to see what he would do next. Owen had quickly looked around cautiously before following Cristina in. Evidently, he hadn't seen a set of pair of pale blue eyes tracking his every move. She glanced around after a slight pause, making sure no one was watching as she moved towards the on-call room and inched the door open slightly. Inside, Owen sat with his back to the door as his hands gently caressed the sleeping Cristina. Even though he wasn't facing the door, Teddy could see the tender expression that had formed on Owen's face. She waited for the waves of jealously to wash over her, but none came. Instead, she felt a sense of loss, sadness and a strange feeling of acceptance as it was in that moment, she realised that Owen had never felt the same way about her. They had spent four years together in Iraq, but none of that mattered. It didn't matter that some things weren't meant to be because when you loved someone, love was love. This sudden realisation shed a new light onto her world. She closed the door of the on-call room quietly before heading off towards the elevator, her mind weighing up the choices that lay before her.

* * *

Jackson stood there, filling in John Doe's chart, his mind miles away. The look on Cristina's face when she emerged from the ambulance was so vulnerable, like walls that she had erected around herself to keep everyone else out had crumbled when she had stepped out the doors, her hand pressed against the man's chest. Jackson knew only snippets of Cristina's traumatic childhood car accident experience as she rarely talked about it. Today's events had definitely been extremely stressful on her, both mentally and physically. He wondered where she was right now, and whether or not she had finished giving her witness account in the conference room. He briefly contemplated going to find her, but decided against it as he doubted she'd appreciate him checking up on her. He sighed softly. It had been two years. Two years. And not much had happened in the two years. Sure, they had gotten a lot closer and she had become his closest friend, but it was clear as day that she still loved Hunt. Suddenly, a voice came from somewhere behind him and interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Have you seen Cristina? She's not answering my pages." He turned around and found himself face to face with an anxious-looking Meredith.

"Have you checked the conference room? The police wanted a statement from her. Why?" he replied, studying her slightly worried face.

"Nothing. It's just the police dropped off her luggage from the scene of the crash and I couldn't find her, so I left it in Derek's office."

"She's not mad you know," Jackson said after a slight pause.

"What?" Meredith looked at him amusedly.

"She's not mad at you. She's mad at herself for not seeing the signs. She's mad at him for lying, but she's not mad at you for not telling her."

"How do you know that?" Meredith's voice was sceptical.

"She had the running whip-stitch face on," replied Jackson simply.

"The what face?" She had no idea what he was on about.

"You know, the face she has when she's doing a running whip stitch." Meredith's face showed her complete incomprehension. "She had different faces. Kind of like different expressions," explained Jackson. "Her forehead creases slightly when she had the bovine face on; it means she's trying to learn something new. She frowns when she has the humpty-dumpty face on; it means she's upset. And the running whip stitch face looks emotionless, but there's a slight frown which tells you she's annoyed or angry at herself," he finished. Amusement was written all over Meredith's face as she listened to his lengthy explanations about Cristina's faces.

There was an awkward pause. "You really like her don't you?" she asked, an amused expression creeping onto her face.

"Yeah I do," he admitted unashamedly. She waited for him to continue. "We're just friends though."

"So I've heard," smirked Meredith as she briefly recalled Cristina's outburst in the cafeteria. _Beep Beep._ She reached down and glanced quickly at her pager. "Well hang in there. Don't give up on her just yet. I've got to go. Derek's paging me," she said apologetically as she headed off.

Jackson watched her disappear around the corner as he contemplated finding Cristina. He glanced casually at his watch; it was nearly nine thirty pm and Cristina was obviously done giving her statement to the police. Usually, they'd celebrate a successful surgery with a round of drinks, but Cristina was nowhere in sight. It had occurred to him that Cristina might have gone back to the apartment already, but he dismissed this idea as Cristina wouldn't have gone back without her luggage. Meredith's words had given him a lot to think about. Meredith didn't seem to think that he and Cristina were a lost cause just yet. But Meredith hadn't seen Hunt's expression as he had crouched there watching the intoxicated-Cristina sleep and nor had she seen the rare tender look that formed in Cristina's eyes whenever she looked at Hunt. The girl was definitely a handful.

* * *

Teddy tossed her keys carelessly onto the coffee table positioned near the entrance of her and Owen's apartment as she shrugged out of her thick woollen coat. She had made her choice. She walked efficiently towards the storage closet where she pulled out a thick canvas suitcase with a metal frame and lugged it over to her drawers where she loading it with piles of her emptying out her clothes, she then moved towards the rack of shoes where she picked out her favourite five pairs and stowed them carefully into their rightful boxes before packing them into her suitcase. It was half-full as she lugged it over to the wardrobe where she removed items from their coat hangers and stored it in her suitcase. Her movements paused briefly as her hand ran gently over her set of khaki army uniform. It brought back memories of her and the Owen she use to know and love. He had disintegrated and changed over the years into someone she barely recognised who bore very little resemblance to the man she had fallen in love with. She'd spent the past two years trying to find at least part of this man only to realise that he had disappeared ran her hand down the khaki set one last time before grabbing the red strapless dress beside it and folded it gently before placing it in her suitcase and zipping it up.

She pulled at the suitcase gently towards the door, sparing one last look at the apartment, the future she and Owen had built together. She paused as she passed the kitchen bench, glancing at the photo taken in Iraq of them together in their khakis. She had her arms slung around his shoulder, looking at him while he stared directly at the camera, a slight smile tugging on the corner of his mouth. She hesitated for a moment, as her hand hovered near the photo frame. Sub-consciously, she found herself sliding the photo out of its frame and slipping it carefully into her wallet before replacing it with a folded sheet of paper onto the table alongside a crumpled envelope she dug out that had been stowed away in the pocket of her khakis for nearly two years. _The contents inside the envelope had the power to change everything_.

She looked around the apartment for one final time before shutting the door behind her and her suitcase.

* * *

The smell of fresh steaming strong black coffee wafted gently from the table beside Cristina, rousing her from her peaceful slumber. She fumbled blindly for her phone and checked the time. Six-twenty two AM. The events from the previous night were foggy, but she vaguely remembered falling asleep in a set of warm and secure arms. Owen's arms. Her eyes widened in shock as she recalled this piece of information. She hoped she hadn't done or said anything she'd regret last night. She yawned loudly as she rolled out of bed, grabbing her white coat and pager in the process. Crap, six missed pages. Four from Meredith one from Jackson and one from the Chief. Grabbing the coffee from the table behind her, she walked out briskly, throwing on her white coat. She sipped cautiously at the brown liquid in the cup; it was lukewarm and had probably been sitting on the table for nearly an hour. The initial shock that had risen from the information Owen had told her yesterday had evaporated and was now replaced instead with wariness and a hint of anger.

"Yang!" Jackson's voice called from somewhere behind her.

"Avery. Got any surgeries?" she greeted as she turned around.

"Nope. But the Chief wants to see you as soon as possible."

"Why?" Her expression was puzzled.

"I have no idea, but let's go now?" suggested Jackson as he pressed the button at the elevators. Cristina shrugged nonchalantly as she followed him in, still cradling her cup of coffee.

* * *

It had been an incredibly rough morning for Owen; his day had started at four-thirty AM and his pager hadn't been silent since. Two had been DOA (dead on arrival) whilst his third patient had died on the table due to large amounts of internal bleeding. Owen's mind had been elsewhere all morning and he had found it hard to focus and concentrate on the case in front of him. His thoughts seemed to always drift to a particular petite black-haired surgeon. And Teddy. How was he going to break the news to her that _he still loved Cristina?_ How would she take it? These thoughts crowded his mind, barely allowing room for the issues at hand. As he crossed the overpass bridge on his way to a patient's room, something behind a thin screen of glass stopped him in his tracks. Cristina and Jackson were standing in the Chief's office shaking hands with someone who looked like the Chief of Surgery at Johns Hopkins; both smiled from ear to ear. Impossible. Cristina couldn't have taken the job at Johns Hopkins, could she? Owen thought as panic grew within him. His pager went off for the fifth time that morning. _Incoming Trauma - Ambulance Bay STAT._ He cursed silently as he turned his back on Webber's office and headed off at a brisk walk towards the ambulance bay.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, an annoyed Jackson and slightly disgruntled Cristina emerged from Webber's office having just met with the Chief of Surgery from Johns Hopkins Hospital.

"So much for the Head of Cardio," muttered Cristina as they rounded the corner.

"A cardiothoracic attending is okay," argued Jackson half-heartedly.

"I don't want to be just okay. I want to be great." Jackson rolled his eyes at her comment, but he agreed with Cristina; she had the potential to be better than okay. The meeting could have gone a lot better.

_Flashback (Ten Minutes Ago)_

"_Come in," Webber called as someone knocked loudly on the door to his office. "Dr. Yang, Dr. Avery," he greeted as Cristina and Jackson walked into his office. "This is Dr. Edward Freischlag, the Chief of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital." A disgruntled look crossed Webber's face as he watched Cristina and Jackson shake hands with Dr. Freischlag. _

"_Dr. Yang, it's wonderful to have finally met you. Harper Avery's told me a lot about you. And you must be his grandson," Dr. Freischlag remarked, sizing Jackson up._

"_Nice to meet you too," replied Cristina politely._

"_Dr. Webber's been kind enough to arrange this meeting for me, so I'll be direct. I would like to offer you both jobs at Johns Hopkins Hospital as cardiothoracic attending surgeons. If you choose to accept my offer, you will be given an apartment situated fifteen minutes drive away from the hospital. You will have your own offices and two fourth-year residents assigned to you. We can negotiate your pay at a later date," he concluded._

"_Wait. Only as a cardiothoracic attending?" Jackson's voice was incredulous. "What happened to the Head of Cardio for Cristina?"_

"_Dr. Miller has decided to postpone his retirement for an unknown time frame. He wishes to make more improvements to our current department before retiring. It may be two years, three years or more before he steps down." He turned to Cristina. "If you do decide to accept, you will be in the running to be the next Head of Cardio when Dr. Miller steps down."_

"_Dr. Miller is just a figurehead dinosaur that makes the department look good-"started Cristina before Jackson cut her off._

"_Thank you for the offer, Dr. Freischlag. We'll need a day or two to think it through, but I'll let you know when we decide," interjected Jackson smoothly in a measured voice._

"_I look forward to hearing from you," Dr. Freischlag replied in an equally controlled voice. "Dr. Webber, Dr. Yang," he acknowledged before heading out._

_End of Flashback_

"You going to call the Avery Senior now?" asked Cristina indifferently.

"Nuh-uh. I had to listen to his hour long speech about greatness last time, so I believe it's your turn," he smirked back.

"Let's Scissors, Paper, Rock it," came Cristina's suggestion. She had no desire to be the messenger of the news.

"You wouldn't let me Scissors, Paper, Rock it last time," Jackson countered as a playful grin slid across his face.

"You're his grandson. How do you think he'd feel if he didn't hear the news from you?" mocked Cristina.

Jackson's eyes narrowed; Cristina had a point.

"Fine. But you're calling next time." Jackson reluctantly pulled out his cell phone and entered the number in.

"Yeah whatever. If there is a next time," smirked Cristina as she made a quick escape from the elevators.

"You might want to pick up your luggage. It's in Shepherd's office. The police dropped it off yesterday," called Jackson as the elevator doors closed.


	13. Chapter 13: Turning Point

"Oi Hunt. You still with me?" Mark's voice cut across Owen's thoughts in the busy bustling emergency room.

"What?" Owen's mind returned again back to the present where a patient with third degree burns lay unconscious on the stretcher.

"We need to get him into an OR as soon as possible to minimise the amount of scarring," repeated Mark as he deposited his bloody rubber gloves into the medical waste disposal bins near the door of the trauma room.

"Book an OR then," replied Owen, stating the obvious.

"I'm not asking for your permission to book an OR." Mark rolled his eyes. "I said that I need someone to fix the internal bleeding while I repair the man's face," he said pointedly.

"So page Bailey." Ignoring the offer to scrub in, Owen snapped off the latex gloves and disposed of them into one of the bins on his way out, leaving behind a surprised Mark to gape after him.

* * *

"What's up with Hunt?" Mark suddenly appeared behind Derek who sat charting at the nurses' station.

"What?" Derek didn't bother looking up from his chart.

"Something's off with him today. The meatballer is meatballing."

"What do you mean?" asked Derek as he looked up slowly.

"I mean he's distracted and unfocused, and completely un-Huntlike." Mark leant against the nurses' station.

"Why are you telling me? Have you talked to Altman?"

Mark snorted. "What am I supposed to say to her?"

"Good point." Derek paused. "Where is he now?" Slight concern crept into his voice as the memory of Owen's nightmarish awakening from the day before resurfaced in his mind as he got to his feet.

"Dunno. Probably somewhere in the Pit," Mark called to Derek's disappearing back.

* * *

Cristina walked leisurely at a relaxed pace in the direction of Derek's office to collect her long-forgotten suitcases when familiar childish voice called from somewhere behind her.

"Cheater! Hey wait up, cheater." She turned around and found the girl from the car crash yesterday standing behind her.

"I'm not a cheater. _Squirt_," she retorted as she glared down at the girl.

"It's Louise," corrected the girl. "And you _are_ a Cheater."

"And you're still a squirt," said Cristina childishly. "How's your dad?"

"He's awake. You should come see him," Louise said matter-of-factly as she grabbed Cristina's larger hand with her tiny one and tugged on it gently.

"Yang!"came Derek's slightly out-of-breath voice from behind them. "Cristina, have you seen Teddy or Owen?"

"No. I haven't." She paused. She knew she shouldn't care yet she couldn't help but be curious. "Why?"

"Nothing," Derek replied quickly as he walked off.

Cristina contemplated further pursuing this topic, but decided against it also dozens of questions rose to the surface of her mind. Instead she let herself be dragged along by the child to the patient's room. She felt slightly apprehensive as she entered the eerily quiet ICU room where the sound of the whirring monitors and beeping machines was barely audible above the man's heavy breathing through the foggy oxygen mask. The girl had detached herself from Cristina's arm and instead seated herself in the chair beside the man's bed. Cristina stood there awkwardly for a moment before she busied herself with the patient's chart, trying to ignore the eyes that followed her every movement in the room from the bed.

She flipped through the folder in search of the patient's name. "So, Mr. Miller. How are you doing?" she asked almost conversationally. Cristina groaned inwardly, she should have known better than to have let the kid lead her into this room where she now stood uneasily, unsure of what to do.

"You're Dr. ...Cheater?" wheezed Mr. Miller, lifting his oxygen mask slightly to reveal a roguish grin.

"Dr. Yang," corrected Cristina as her eyes narrowed in the direction of the chair where a soft string of laugther emanated from.

"Robert Miller." He extended a hand weakly outwards for Cristina to shake. "So you're the doctor who saved my life?"

"One of the doctors. Dr. Bailey, Dr. Hunt and Dr. Avery did most of the work actually."

"But you're the doctor who rode with me in the ambulance right?" Robert persisted as his grey eyes bore into her.

"Yes." Her eyes broke away from the piercing stare that radiated at her and she flipped through his charts.

"I may have been unconscious, but Louise told me what you did for us." In response to this, Cristina acknowledged this with an uncommitted nod as she flipped through the patient's charts.

"Your vitals look good considering you just had major heart surgery. How's the pain on a scale of one to ten?" said Cristina as she closed the patient's charts.

"About a five," the man replied weakly before slipping his oxygen mask on again. Silence fell upon the trio as numerous questions as well as thoughts rushed to Cristina's mind.

"I'll get the nurses to give you an extra dose of morphine then. Is your wife coming to visit?" she asked absentmindedly as she opened up the chart again and scribbled down a prescription messily.

"Mother doesn't live with us anymore," replied Louise matter-of-factly before Robert could answer.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Cristina said quickly.

"I'm not." The child made a face. "Want to play cards?" asked Louise as the deck of cards from yesterday was produced from her pocket.

Cristina checked her watch. "No, I have to go," she said quickly. Seeing the slight pout on Louise's lips, she added "Maybe next time."

Robert removed his oxygen mask from his mouth with one hand and grasped the child's hands with the other. "Dr. Yang has to work, sweetie. Why don't I play with you?" suggested Robert as he removed the cards from the box.

"Take care, Mr Miller. And see you around, squirt," she called to the child as she deposited the chart at the foot of the patient's bed.

"Bye cheater," replied Louise as she began her attempt to shuffle the large deck of cards unsuccessfully. They flipped and fell out of her small and ineffectual hands and onto the ground around her causing the man on the bed to laugh loudly into his oxygen mask.

She paused momentarily at the exit and looked back on the father-daughter duo who sat laughing at the cards that were scattered messily all over the floor. It seemed like a scene from a fairytale with a happy ending; a happy ending which could have been hers. Nineteen years ago, she could have been the child who sat there without a care in the world as she played cards with her father in a quiet hospital room. Instead she had been the child who held her father's failing heart in her tiny hands in a vain attempt to keep it pulsating before her world crashed to her feet when her father's heart gave its final beat. She sighed loudly as she shook off some of the painful memories from nineteen years ago that threatened to resurface in her mind. Sparing a final glance at the pair, she turned and walked out of the room.

Almost immediately, she collided with a tangle of vibrant blue eyes and auburn hair. A searing pain ran up her arm as it came into contact with the sharp edge of the chart Owen was holding. She looked up and found herself looking into a pair of startled blue eyes.

"Um, ow."

"Sorry. I'm sor-" came Owen's hasty apology which broke off as he found himself gazing into a confused pair of doe-brown eyes which were filled with surprise and also a hint of anger.

This connection broke off when Cristina's gaze followed her hand that went to soothe the searing pain in her arm where she felt slight warm moisture. The stitches that held the laceration on her arm together had ripped when she had collided with Owen and blood trickled slowly from the open wound, staining her dark blue scrub top. Sensing her sudden distress, Owen followed her gaze downwards and his eyes widened in shock as they fell upon the bloodied sleeve of Cristina's scrubs.

"Did I do that?" Surprise filled Owen's voice as he stared in horror at the darkening red stains that formed on the navy blue material.

Noting the look of shock on Owen's face, Cristina tried to block it from Owen's view with her hand. "It's nothing. It's just a small cut. It's a stupid nothing," said Cristina dismissively, attempting to brush it off. The look of horror didn't leave Owen's face as he stood there gaping at the wound. "It's fine," Cristina repeated as she stepped to go around him. Instinctively, his hand went out and wrapped itself around her undamaged arm, preventing her from leaving. "It's not fine." Worry filled his voice.

"Let go of me. I'm fine," Cristina insisted as annoyance crept into her voice. She tried to extract herself from his grip, but her protests fell on deaf ears as Owen' countered her attempts to free herself.

"No, you're not fine." And with that, Owen strengthened his firm grip around her arm and with a chart in one hand, Cristina in the other, he steered her towards the ER to stitch her up.

The ER was bustling with activity as a result of the flu-season. Nurses were everywhere administering antibiotics and flu vaccinations whilst distributing tissues and hand sanitiser to the patients in the waiting room.

"Stay here," Owen commanded as he deposited her into an empty chair beside a gurney in the bustling ER before he went to grab a suture kit from one of the supply stands situated near the elevators. Cristina contemplated the idea of making a run for it, but Owen had returned before the idea had a chance to solidify in her mind. He slipped on a pair of surgical gloves before he moved to fold up Cristina's sleeve to gain a better visualisation of the cut. "It doesn't look too deep. You'll be fine," he commented as he reached for some alcohol wipes to clean the cut.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," said Cristina exasperatedly as she fought the urge to roll her eyes. Owen chose to ignore this comment as he carefully threaded a needle.

"So how are you?" asked Owen conversationally as he began slowly stitching up Cristina's cut.

"Why do you care? We're not even friends." She instantly regretted her response as a look of hurt flashed across Owen's face. There was a pause before Owen spoke.

"Whether you like it or not, I still care about you, Cristina. Even if we're not friends, _I still care about you_." His cerulean eyes shifted from her laceration to look deeply into her soft brown ones. Cristina sighed. She had planned on avoiding this particular conversation with Owen, but the tortured look in Owen's eyes ate away at her conscience.

"Okay," she replied simply.

"Okay?" He raised an eyebrow in confusion. This was definitely not the answer he had expected to receive.

"Okay we can be friends. Whatever," elaborated Cristina.

The corners of Owen's lips lifted to form a slightly crooked smile in response, but he remained silent as he continued to suture her arm. They sat in silence as Owen worked, his hands were firm yet so gentle, their eyes would occasionally meet, but the connection never lasted long as one would always look away awkwardly. Every now and again, his bare arm would brush softly against Cristina's soft skin, sending a current-like sensation rippling through both their bodies.

"Done." Owen announced about five minutes later as he snipped the thread quickly before carefully rolling down Cristina's bloodstained sleeve. "Try not to strain your arm for at least another 36 hours. You'll need to get it checked and the stitches removed in a day or so."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," came Owen's polite reply as he began packing away the supplies. He wrapped up his gloves, the packaging from the suture kit and the used alcohol wipes roughly in blue sheet of plastic. Cristina reached to help him, and as she did so, her hand brushed softly against Owen's arm. This brief contact created a tingling sensation which ran up her arm like a warm electric current.

Owen jerked slightly at the unexpected light touch he felt on his arm; the attraction he felt towards her was undeniable and in that busy bustling ER, it took all his self-control to not wrap his arms around her. With a final acknowledging nod, Cristina turned and walked away. It was then that Owen realised they had yet to have a proper talk about their encounters from yesterday. He quickly abandoned the roughly wrapped remnants of the suture kit and chased after her.

"Cristina! Wait," he called as he jogged to catch up to her. Upon hearing his voice, she turned around and looked questioningly at him. "Can we talk... about everything... at Joe's tonight or something?" He shifted his weight awkwardly, avoiding her questioning stare.

"What?" Cristina's voice was incredulous.

"Please, Cristina. At least give me a chance to explain everything." His tortured blue eyes pleaded wordlessly with her.

"Not today. I... I just can't." Cristina avoided the intensifying gaze that radiated from the oceanic blue eyes. "See you around," she said offhandedly as she walked off, leaving behind a pair of broken blue eyes behind her.

* * *

"Cristina!" Meredith's voice rang loudly from behind her as Cristina stepped into the elevator. Meredith suddenly appeared next to her, breathless from running. "Hey." Cristina ignored her as she reached for the panel of buttons.

"What?" replied Cristina coldly as she stared directly ahead. Sensing Cristina's lack of cooperation, Meredith pulled the emergency stop button on the elevator.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Owen and Teddy. I wasn't even meant to know about it, but then Owen told Derek and Derek told me, but I didn't tell you. It wasn't my place to tell you even though you're my person, but I should have told you so I'm sorry I didn't." She paused to take a breath. Cristina remained unresponsive as she stared ahead at the closed elevator doors. "Say something, Cristina. I'm really trying here."

"Well, uh you're rambling, Mer," said Cristina.

"Cristina!"

"Fine, whatever."

"Is that a 'fine whatever, I accept your apology' or what?" asked Meredith, frustration filled her voice.

"It's a 'fine whatever, I accept your apology _if_ the shots are on you tonight.'"

Meredith's face broke out into a large smile. "So am I forgiven?"

"Am I getting tequila?" responded Cristina.

Meredith acknowledged her reply by releasing the elevator's emergency stop button and the elevator began moving again carrying the two once-again best friends with it.

* * *

Teddy hadn't returned any of Owen's pages and he was beginning to feel frustrated. He'd been meaning to speak with her since he left Cristina sleeping in the on-call room yesterday and he had heard nothing from her. She hadn't returned any of his calls or messages and he had searched most of the hospital for her; the vent, the cardiothoracic wing, the cafeteria to no avail. Even the crowded OR board showed she had no surgeries scheduled for the day. It was then that Owen decided he wasn't going to wait any longer. He checked the ER for incoming traumas before changing quickly from his scrubs into civilian clothing. Grabbing his set of keys from his office, he walked briskly to the car park where his truck was parked and drove swiftly to the apartment he shared with Teddy.

Jogging up the flight of stairs two at a time, he reached the door of their apartment in no time. Efficiently fishing his keys out of his pockets, he unlocked the heavy wooden door with a click, pushing it open. As he stepped through the doorway, he immediately sensed something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

"Teddy?" he called softly into the eerily silent apartment.

Glancing around the semi-dark living room, he fumbled for the light switch situated near the door. As he did so, he noticed that the usually-packed shoe rack was strangely neat and empty. He moved quickly past the living room and into their bedroom. The sheets on the bed were crinkled and unmade like someone had slept in them recently, yet there was an uncanny sense of emptiness about it. He walked over to the wardrobe next to the mirror and pulled it open. It was half-empty and only his clothes occupied its half of the space. A feeling of disbelief was slowly building within him. He then moved over to the drawers, yanking them open to reveal his clothing sitting in their solitary piles separated by the gaping gaps left by Teddy's clothes. Glancing around the half-empty bedroom, he moved back to the living room where he noticed more and more items missing; the bookcase that was usually filled with Teddy's medical journals was now half-empty and empty spaces occupied most of the CD rack beside the television. _Teddy was gone._ He waited for a sense of sadness and loss to come over him, but none came. Instead, waves of relief rippled through him as he savoured the sweet taste of freedom. Suddenly, something lying next to the empty photo frame on the clean kitchen bench top caught his eye. As he moved closer, he recognised the objects; a folded sheet of paper and an extremely crumpled envelope. He reached curiously for the sheet of paper and unfolded it slowly. With each line he read, he felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders and found it much easier to breathe.

_Dear Owen,_

_I think by now you have realised that I am gone. I know you have questions, but all I'm going to say is that this was all for the best. You might not agree now, but someday you'll understand. You and I were never really a couple; you may have cared a lot about me, but you have never truly loved me. You love Cristina and you always have, I just couldn't see it. For the past two years, I held onto the futile hope that you would someday feel that way about me and now I'm letting you go. Don't feel bad yet, Hunt. There's something else that I have to tell you and you'll probably never forgive me for it. I wish I could undo my actions, but it's too late now. The envelope I left beside this letter should explain everything. Don't hate me too much, Owen. I'm sorry._

_From Teddy_

Owen felt a strange sense of dread as he reached slowly for the crumpled white envelope.


	14. Chapter 14: Revelations

_Author's Note: Dedicated to all the wonderful readers who left a review :-) seroox, Alexia, JJ, Emma, shipperficial, Ange, Chiph, Bryn, carmelcarmie, Jessica, greysgirly1, carmen, PatrickHenry77, OCshipper, slytherinchickk, Reannederful. And of course, to my favorite critic, wyee83. Thanks heaps guys!_

* * *

Inside the creased envelope, he withdrew a folded crinkled sheet of paper that had yellowed slightly over time and he unfolded it carefully. His azure blue eyes widened in shock as they skimmed slowly across the first line.

_Seattle Presbyterian Hospital – Prenatal Paternity Test for Patient: T. Altman _

_Dear Ms. Altman,_

_We have enclosed the results of the Chorionic Villi Sampling test on the DNA sample/s that you have provided. They have been compared to the set of non-invasively acquired prenatal samples from the foetus._

Results:

_Sample 1 – Owen Daniel Hunt: Negative Match at 99.9% accuracy_

_Sample 2 – Owen Daniel Hunt: Negative Match at 99.4% accuracy_

_Sample 3 – Michael Henry Perkins: Positive Match at 70.5% accuracy_

_Sample 4 – Andrew Winton Tupper: Negative Match at 99.6% accuracy_

_If you have any questions or wish to discuss these results, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Warren or another OB-GYN specialist today. We look forward to hearing from you._

_Regards,_

_PrenatalGeneTestCheck – SP Hospital_

His eyes had glazed past most of the letter and the only line he truly saw was '_Sample 1 – Owen Daniel Hunt: Negative Match at 99.9% accuracy'. _He vaguely recalled providing DNA samples via buccal swabs, but Teddy had never shown him the results of the test and he was too preoccupied with keeping his mind off Cristina to ask her about it. Shock had glued Owen's feet to the soft carpet floor as the letter fell from his weakened grip and landed soundlessly against the floor. His cerulean eyes resembled a vast ocean of emptiness as they stared blankly ahead, the fallen letter long forgotten.

Thoughts ran thick and fast through his mind as he grappled with a multitude of emotions. _He hadn't been the father of Teddy's child._ This thought should have come as a relief to him yet all he felt was a sense of loss. As a result of the pregnancy, he had not only lost Cristina, but also being by her side through every step of the ups and downs of the two years that had gone past. He felt his legs weaken as these waves of loss crashed violently against him; ripping and tearing away at his conscience. Slowly, these waves of loss pooled together to form another emotion. Anger. He was angry at Teddy for lying and hiding everything. He was angry at Cristina for simply walking away. He was angry at whoever was responsible for knocking Teddy up in the first place. But most importantly, he was angry at himself; he had been a fool to just give up Cristina under the impression he was righting a wrong.

He ran his hand roughly through his tousled red hair. Numerous questions bombarded his mind as he found himself contemplating the options of his future. He knew he wanted Cristina; he just didn't know how to get her back. He had hidden the truth from her two years ago by ending everything with a simple lie and she had walked away believing it. Now he found that the tables had turned, he was at a complete loss at what to say to her and how to even start. The anger that Owen felt towards Teddy has disappeared for the time being as Owen sat there as a plan slowly pieced itself together in his mind.

* * *

Cristina lounged lazily on one of the gurneys in the basement hallway, flipping non-committedly through the latest cardiothoracic medical journal. Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes upon her and she looked up to see Jackson's soft emerald green eyes staring at her from a few feet away.

"What are you? Some kind of perve who watches women read on gurneys from a distance?" she mocked as she continued flipping through the medical journal.

"If that's your way of saying 'thank you', then you're welcome," said Jackson as moved closer and seated himself at the edge of the gurney, near Cristina's feet.

The medical journal slid off Cristina's lap as she sat up instantly. "Why? Did you get me a surgery?" she demanded.

"Nope. But being a wonderful friend, I did help you move your suitcases from Shepherd's office back to the apartment," Jackson replied proudly, grinning as if it were some huge accomplishment.

"Oh. Whatever," replied Cristina non-enthusiastically as she started going through the magazine once again.

Jackson merely rolled his eyes in response.

"Are you okay?" Jackson's forehead suddenly creased with worry.

"What?" Cristina's voice was incredulous. "Seriously? Why is everyone asking me that? Do I look weak or something?"

"Nope. You just happen to have a _huge_ bloodstain on your sleeve," said Jackson as he stared pointedly at the dark patch that covered most of Cristina's left sleeve.

"Oh." Cristina shifted slightly awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable under the intense stare that radiated towards her arm.

"You going to tell me what happened?" persisted Jackson as his eyes remained transfixed on the darker area of the sleeve.

"Traffic pile up yesterday. Happy?"

"Is that all?" His grass green eyes narrowed suspiciously. After having spent two years with Cristina, Jackson had honed a sixth sense that told him whenever Cristina wasn't telling him the complete story.

_Beep Beep. _Cristina's pager went off before she had a chance to reply and her hands instantly reached for them. "Oh look, it's Webber. Guess I'll have to talk to you later," Cristina said before she made a speedy escape through the door to the stairwell.

"We're not done talking," called Jackson after her disappearing back. He took Cristina's place on the gurney, grabbing her medical journal and flicking through it while his mind drifted off elsewhere. He had spent two years staying by Cristina's side through her ups and downs, highs and lows in the vain hope that someday she would turn around and notice him as more than a friend, but it had never happened. He had been scared of ruining the friendship between them to be the first to make a move so he had instead lingered by her side silently and patiently, holding onto this thread of futile hope. Fate had a twisted sense of humour as it had brought him and Cristina back to Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital; the place where everything had started out. Most people who had seen him and Cristina together had instantly assumed they were a couple, but Cristina had always laughed it off saying it was something that would never happen. In times like those, he would simply laugh along with her while secretly wishing she would someday change her mind. Meredith's words from before had given him a lot to think about and now they echoed loudly in his mind. '_Hang in there. Don't give up on her just yet.' _Although he had no idea what the term 'person' meant even though Cristina used it so often to describe her relationship with Meredith, it seemed to be another word for _best friend_ or the _person you'd do anything for._ He sighed loudly as closed the medical journal. He was neither Cristina's boyfriend nor her person. But hopefully, that would change soon.

* * *

Cristina knocked tentatively on the Chief's closed door; two years away from the hospital had done nothing to change the authoritative aura that was projected by Richard Webber at all times.

"Come in." His voice rang loudly through the thick wooden door which Cristina openly slowly.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" she asked as she walked closer towards the long maple table.

"Uh yes. Take a seat." He gestured towards the hard plastic chair situated in front of his desk. Cristina sat down silently, unsure of why she was there.

"Sir...?" she prompted cautiously.

"Today, not long after I spoke with you and Dr. Avery, I received an email from Dr. Altman. It was her letter of resignation from the position of Head of Cardio at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital," said Webber as he clasped his hands together nervously.

"Teddy's gone? Did she say why?" Cristina's eyes widened in surprise as the cogs in her brain whirred rapidly; she had seen Owen barely two hours ago, not long after her meeting with the Chief and Dr. Freischlag. Surely Owen couldn't have also disappeared in the space of two hours too, could he?

The Chief cleared his throat loudly before he continued. "Her letter was fairly short and direct. Her contract ended a few weeks ago and I wanted to consider other options before renewing the contract with her." Richard paused. "She didn't give a reason for her resignation or any reason for the short notice, but she has recommended that I hire you in her place."

"Hire me?" Cristina's voice rose with surprise.

"Hire you," replied Webber before he paused and look Cristina directly in the eye. "How would you like a job here, Dr. Yang?"

"I- I need some more time to think about it," replied Cristina quickly.

"I can give you a higher wage, more residents and more benefits, but I can't give you more time. The board is pushing me to find a replacement for Altman by three o'clock today. And right now, you are my number one choice. All I need is a yes or no, Yang." His dark brown eyes now focused intensely on Cristina.

It was in that split second Cristina made a life-changing spur of the moment decision. "It'd be a pleasure, Sir."

"Good. Welcome aboard. I'll get Patricia to make sure Altman's office is ready for use. We'll discuss your pay and benefits later." Webber as he extended a hand for Cristina to shake. Cristina grasped it quickly although she was still in a state of shock as a result of her spur of the moment decision. She pulled her hand from his grasp and turned headed towards the door.

"Oh and Yang."

Cristina's hand stopped on its way to the door handle. "Chief?"

"Get a new scrub top," said Webber as his eyes fell upon the dark stain on Cristina's sleeve.

"Yes Sir." And with that, Cristina left the Chief's office in a slight daze.

* * *

In the cafeteria, Meredith and Cristina lounged leisurely at a table for four, each with their respective meals in front of them.

"No way. Seriously? Why?" Meredith's forkful of salad that had stopped halfway on its journey to her mouth was long forgotten as she stared at Cristina, her eyes wide with shock.

"I don't know. He offered, I accepted," replied Cristina nonchalantly as she took another bite of her chicken sandwich.

"But why?"

"There's a nice cardio department here." Cristina tried to shrug off Meredith's question, but her attempt proved to be unsuccessful as Meredith stared at her sceptically with scrutinizing eyes.

"Johns Hopkins has an even better one! What were you thinking, Cristina?" reprimanded Meredith. "I thought you wanted to get away from here as soon as you could."

"I did, I mean I do." Cristina averted her gaze away from Meredith's accusatory stare.

"Then why did you take the Chief's offer?" retorted Meredith exasperatedly.

"Cristina took who's offer?" Izzie slid smoothly into the seat beside Meredith as she leant forward and injected herself into their conversation.

"Cristina's the new Head of the Cardio Department," said Meredith before Cristina could say anything.

"At Johns Hopkins?"

"Nope. Our Head of Cardio actually." Meredith popped a forkful of salad into her mouth, ignoring the glare that radiated strongly from Cristina's seat.

"No way." The apple Izzie was holding fell back onto her loaded tray and landed on her box of Caesar salad. "She didn't! You didn't! Right? What about Hunt? And Altman?"

"That's what I asked!" said Meredith as she waved her fork in Izzie's direction.

"All right. Shut up." Cristina put her sandwich down. "Altman's gone and I don't know _or care_ about Owen. I took the job when Webber offered it and I have no regrets about it. So now, I'm officially your boss. Satisfied?" Cristina glared back at Izzie and Meredith. Instead of the defeated looks of acceptance she had expected, both Meredith and Izzie were staring at something over her head with their mouths slightly open. She turned around slowly and found herself staring at a stunned Jackson Avery who stood strangely motionless, still holding his tray of cafeteria food and an extra coffee that presumably had been for her. "Uh hi," said Cristina awkwardly after a brief pause. Jackson merely stared back in response, his emerald eyes unmoving. "You want a seat?" she asked conversationally, trying to ignore the thickening taste of tension that filled the air.

"We need to talk. Now," said Jackson in an abnormally calm voice.

Cristina opened her mouth to argue, but she noticed that they were attracting curious stares from the other occupants sitting nearby in the cafeteria so she sighed resignedly and abandoned her tray of food before she followed Jackson out of the bustling area.

* * *

"You took Webber's offer?" Jackson's voice rose as he faced Cristina in the empty supply closet.

"Keep it down," hissed Cristina. Her eyes darted nervously towards the door; the hospital's grapevine spread gossip like a raging wildfire and she had no intention of sharing her new decision with the entire hospital just yet.

"You took Webber's offer?" he repeated, incredulity crept into his voice.

"Yes. I took his offer. Big deal." Cristina rolled her eyes.

"It _is_ a big deal." Jackson stepped closer to Cristina and looked deeply into her eyes. "It is a big deal to me," he repeated, not breaking off the gaze.

Cristina suddenly found herself feeling uncomfortable under the intense gaze that radiated from Jackson and took a step backwards to find herself backed against the shelves in the supply closet. "Uh, you're in my space," she said awkwardly as she averted her gaze downwards.

_Now or never_, Jackson thought to himself. "Cristina," he called quietly as he stepped forward, closing the near non-existent space between him and Cristina. He felt a suddenly emboldened. "I've loved you for forever. I never wanted to push you because I wanted you to be the one to make the first move," he said softly, as he waited patiently for her to look up and maybe see the sincerity of his words in his deep emerald eyes.

Unsure if she had heard correctly, Cristina looked up at him; her soft brown eyes peered questioningly at him. "What?"

As soon as she looked up, Jackson's lips immediately claimed Cristina's, replying her question with the passion he had accumulated over the past two years.

Cristina found herself being pushed backwards against the shelves as Jackson's lips found hers and felt a sense of déjà vu as her mind flashed back to a similar incident from years ago where they had both been severely intoxicated at Arizona's surprise birthday party.

* * *

_Flashback_

_The 'surprise party' Callie had planned for Arizona was a completely flop, thought Cristina as she grabbed a beer from the alcohol-crowded bench top. There was a wide variety of people in her apartment, from nurses to psych residents and her supply of alcohol was being depleted at a rapid rate. She sighed softly. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed Owen. He had always been there through her highs and lows, and it felt strange and empty for him not to be by her side. Meredith's words had given her a lot to think about and she had spent the whole day thinking about them. Owen did love her and he truly did care about her; she knew that, but she didn't think she had gone too far. It had been months since she had scrubbed in on a decent cardiothoracic surgery and because of this, she had instantly jumped at the chance to perform one. Why couldn't Owen see that about her? Why couldn't he see that under her snarky and quick-tongued exterior, she was slowly dying on the inside? She was a private person and she knew Owen respected that. But there were too many things between them that she had left untold; Burke, the almost-wedding, her ectopic pregnancy, her remaining fallopian tube. She tried to push away these unpleasant thoughts as she downed half her beer in a go. She missed Owen and that was all he needed to know for now._

_She glanced around the room cautiously. No one would notice if she disappeared into her room, would they? She needed some quiet time alone to think everything over. She opened her bedroom door quietly and slipped in only to find herself face to face with Jackson Avery._

"_Yang. Doctor- Can I Cristina you? Or are we not there yet," he drawled slightly drunkenly as he appeared from her bathroom. Cristina rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly in response. Still, Jackson wasn't at all deterred. "So no? Okay. Dr. Yang. Let me just tell you that- that was incredibly hot in that OR yesterday. Very deeply hot. It was hot. You were hot," he continued, the effects of the alcohol slurring his speech slightly._

_Cristina merely laughed in response. The pretty boy was pretty funny when he was drunk and she would have jumped at the opportunity to mock him if her mind hadn't been burdened with thoughts about Owen. "Uh you're drunk and you're in my room," she said as she backed slightly away from him._

"_I am in fact inebriated; that's legal, you know and even if I wasn't, you're the rule-breaker which I think we established in surgery." He downed his drink in one go._

"_Really? You think that was hot?" Cristina decided to humour him as she placed her drink on the stand near the door._

"_Would it be really really bad if I just- you know, 'cause of the whole embolism thing and you in general. Could I just -" Out of the blue, Jackson's lips crashed roughly onto hers; forcing them open as his tongue explored the inside of her mouth. Shock took hold of Cristina for a second as she found herself pressed against a wall with a mouth that wasn't Owen's stuck to hers. Her hands immediately went to Jackson's shoulders, pushing him away from her and creating a distance between them._

"_Uh no. I'm involved," she said quickly, raising a hand. "I'm involved," she repeated before she made a quick escape from the room. Jackson stood there as she left, slight surprise etched across his face. No girl had refused him before and certainly not a girl as hot as Cristina. But then again, he was always up for a challenge._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

Time had not changed Cristina's reaction as she found herself pushing Jackson away when he tried to deepen the kiss. She looked up and found herself staring into a pair of eyes that were tainted with hurt and rejection. She remained silent as she stared back with a questioning look in her eyes.

"I'm in love with you." The words slipped out of Jackson's mouth as he saw the look of incomprehension appear in Cristina's eyes. "I've loved you for over two years now. That's one of the reasons I've stayed by your side through it all," he continued as his green eyes monitored her face for any sort of reaction. Cristina merely stared back, her eyes widened slightly with surprise. He paused.

"You didn't say anything before," she said after a brief moment of silence.

"I never found the right time," he shrugged, his eyes not leaving her face.

"And now's the right time?" Scepticism filled Cristina's voice as she looked up and her soft brown eyes peered curiously at him.

"I love you, Cristina Yang," repeated Jackson, his moss-coloured eyes stared intensely at her. An unpleasant silence fell upon them as they stared at each other. "Say something," Jackson suddenly pleaded.

Cristina opened her mouth, but no words came out. _Beep Beep._ Her pager went off suddenly and she grabbed at it like a lifeline. She froze as she looked at it.

"Crap. 911. Sarah Blakes." She looked at Jackson; he still had the intense look on his face as he looked back at her.

The timing of the page couldn't have been any worse. "Go," he said quickly. She was a professional, the best in her field and he wasn't going to make her have to choose between a patient's well-being and him. "You can reply me later. Go now and page me when you're done."

Wordlessly, she pushed quickly brushed Jackson and headed off at a run towards the patient's room.

* * *

The rest of the hospital around her blurred as she ran towards Sarah Blakes' room. The patient had been fine in the morning when Cristina had checked up on her, but obviously something had gone terribly wrong.

"What's happened?" Cristina burst into the room and her eyes immediately jumped to the monitors.

"She's had an embolic stroke which has clogged up her thyroid and she's been unresponsive to the doses of thrombolytics we administered," replied Lexie as she quickly passed the patient's chart to Cristina.

"Her BPs dropped to 90 over 70 and she's become hypotensive. Why didn't you intubate her?" snapped Cristina as she flicked through the chart.

"What- I- I didn't think of it." Lexie wrung her hands in frustration.

"Get her prepped and book an OR. You can observe. Move," Cristina commanded as she grabbed the intubation kit from a nurse's outstretched hand and skilfully slipped the tube with the aid of the laryngoscope into patient's trachea.

"All the ORs are being used right now," panted Lexie as she returned to the room, slightly out of breath. "Dr. Shepherd is doing a craniotomy in OR 1. Dr. Bailey is doing a bowel repair in OR 2 and Chief Webber is doing a liver transplant in OR 3."

"What about OR 4?" Cristina didn't look up from the patient as she continued pressed the oxygen pump at a steady pace.

"Dr. Hunt just booked it and is about to start a GSW repair," replied Lexie.

"Tell him to wait."

"I tried. He says the patient will bleed out if he doesn't get in there."

"Where is he now?" Cristina finally looked up.

"He's scrubbing in right now."

"Come here. Hurry up. Take over and I'll be right back." In that moment, Cristina made her second spur of the moment decision of the day and sprinted out the door and headed towards the OR hallway.

* * *

Less than a minute later, Cristina burst loudly into the scrub room of OR 4 where Alex and Owen were scrubbing in.

"I need your OR," she panted.

"What?" replied Alex and Owen in unison as they both turned to look at her.

"I need your OR," Cristina repeated, avoiding the questioning blue gaze that radiated towards her.

'Dude, the guy has five bullets lodged in his abdomen," replied Alex. "He's going to bleed out if we don't get to him."

"Pack and clean the entry wounds with antibiotics and if he does start to bleed out, use the green dry fibrin sealant powder that replicates the body's clotting process and it'll give you at least an extra hour or so. My patient is going to suffer from permanent brain damage and possibly death if I don't get her into an OR within the next ten minutes," retorted Cristina as she glared at Alex.

Alex looked at Owen, waiting for his reply. "Dr. Hunt?"

Owen remained silent for a moment before replying. "How long will your procedure take?" he asked quietly, his blue eyes still fixed on Cristina.

"Half an hour if there aren't any complications." Cristina avoided his intense stare.

Owen paused for a second, his mind calculating the risks of delay for his patient. "Fine. Karev, tell the nurses that we'll be performing the repairs after Dr. Yang has finished with the OR."

"Are you kidding?" Alex's voice was incredulous. "The guy's going to di-"

Owen cut across Alex. "We're waiting until Dr. Yang finishes with the OR. That's an order, Karev." Alex glared at Owen for a second before retreating into the OR. "Page me when you're done," Owen said to Cristina, his eyes lingered momentarily on her as he made to leave the scrub room.

"Owen," Cristina called out suddenly just before he reached the door. Owen turned around and looked questioningly at her. "Drinks after work sounds nice."

Owen's face broke into a huge eye-crinkling smile and his cerulean eyes glinted with warmth and happiness. "Okay." And with that, he left. _Baby steps; that's all it takes_, he thought quietly to himself. Maybe him and Cristina weren't a lost case after all. The very thought of it triggered a wave of warmth that travelled from his chest to his fingertips. He would tell her. He would tell her how he felt. He would tell her everything.


	15. Chapter 15: Square One

_**Author's Note:** __Dedicated to all my wonderful readers who put up with me and my late updates, and the lovely people who left me a review; Dani, Anhir, Jackie Manny, Olivia, vampire-angel1996, Sarah, earth2eternity, carmen, chiph, Reannederful, georginiuxa, Emma, greysgirly1, compoop, AiLing, slytherinchickk, OCshipper, Erica, Mad Orange and my all-time favorite critic; wyee83. You guys are amazing._

* * *

Forty two minutes later, Cristina had managed to locate and extract the clot that had been the cause of the embolic stroke.

"Three! Monitor the patient while I go talk to the patient's parents," Cristina called as she finished the final stitch.

There was a pause in the OR while Lexie looked around confusedly. "What? Wait, are you talking to me?" she asked.

"Aren't you three?" Cristina also had a look of confusion now as she returned the needle and clamp to the tray of bloody surgical instruments. "Or are you four point five?" she guessed.

"What? Oh! You mean the number you gave me years ago?" exclaimed Lexie as the metaphorical light bulb over her head lit up all of a sudden.

"What did you think I was talking about?" Amusement had crept into Cristina's voice. "So much for that photographic memory, Lexipedia," she smirked. "Page Dr. Hunt too and tell him we've finished with the OR." Cristina deposited the bloody latex gloves and surgical gown into one of the disposal bins nearby she left the operating room. She tossed her surgical mask carelessly into the basket situated next the exit of the scrub room as she headed off towards the OR waiting room. The moment she stepped outside, she collided instantly with a tall figure that had been pacing around restlessly outside the entrance.

"Oi watch it-" she broke off suddenly and her jaw dropped slightly as she found herself staring up into a familiar pair of surprised-looking blue eyes.

"Uh, hey," said Owen as his eyes widened with surprise.

"Seriously? We really have to stop meeting like this," replied Cristina as she straightened her scrub top. The corners of Owen's mouth twitched slightly as he barely concealed a grin at her snarky greeting. "Anyways, we've finished with your OR – I mean the OR, so you can probably take your patient in now," continued Cristina casually.

"Oh okay." Owen paused as an awkward silence descended upon them. "Hey so um, you're off at eight? If you're still up for drinks, I'll meet you at the chairs near the entrance of the lobby?" he asked awkwardly as averted his gaze and he shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"I finish a bit earlier today so why don't I just meet you at Joe's instead?" suggested Cristina. She would definitely need some alcohol in her blood if she was going to spend the night giving Owen a chance to finally explain everything to her.

"Actually, I was thinking of somewhere less crowde-" Owen didn't get to finish his sentence as Alex suddenly appeared in the doorway of the scrub room, effectively ending their conversation.

"Dr. Hunt? You need to get in here right now. There's a huge tear in the patient's abdomen and the fibrin sealant isn't holding anymore." Alex's eyes darted curiously between the pair as he waited for Owen to looked apologetically at Cristina, clearly torn between his desires and his duty as a surgeon. "Dr. Hunt. You coming?" persisted Alex as he untangled the mess of strings of the surgical mask in his hand.

"I'll be with you in a minute," said Owen although he made no motion to move towards the door. "Make sure the patient's all prepped, Karev."

Alex nodded before he disappeared through the doorway.

"I have stuff to do too," said Cristina as she gestured non-committedly towards the elevator doors.

Owen still didn't budge although an expression of ambivalence presided over his face. "Lobby at eight?" His eyes darted back and forth between the door of the scrub room and Cristina.

"What- I- Okay."

"Take care now, Cristina." The words slipped out of his mouth as he felt lightheaded as waves of relief washed over him.

"What?" Surprise filled Cristina's voice. She hadn't definitely expected to hear those three words, especially at a time like this.

Owen opened his mouth to reply, but Alex reappeared in the doorway, all scrubbed in with a surgical gown and gloves on already. "Dr. Hunt. The patient's crashing. We need you in here. Now."

"Lobby at eight," repeated Owen as his blue eyes stared deeply into Cristina's soft brown eyes before he turned and headed briskly into the scrub room. The door swung shut after his disappearing figure, leaving behind a confused-looking Cristina.

* * *

Cristina lay sprawled in an exhausted heap across the counter at the nurses' station with her head buried deep in her arms. Her mind had been working in overdrive since her encounter with Owen outside the scrub room. _'Take care now.'_ What the hell did those words even mean anyway? Did Owen _really_ still love her even after all those years of separation? She sighed loudly and attempted to push this particular thought from her mind, dampening the little glimmer of hope that the words had kindled in her chest. After all the letdowns she'd experienced, the walls that she had erected around herself that separated her emotions from her exterior were now harder than ever to penetrate.

Suddenly, the aroma of strong, freshly-brewed coffee wafted up lazily and filled Cristina's nostrils as she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. She looked up and found an amused-looking Meredith looking back at her with a steaming cup of coffee held in her outstretched hand.

"Bad day?" asked Meredith as she extended the arm with the coffee in it, offering the hot beverage to Cristina.

"You could say so," responded Cristina as she gladly accepted the coffee from Meredith's outstretched hand.

"You do know Jackson's looking for you right?" said Meredith casually as she joined Cristina at the nurses' station, resting her head on her hand as she looked directly at Cristina.

"I know." Cristina's reply was short and succinct and her expression gave nothing away. Meredith looked questioningly at Cristina, waiting for her to elaborate. A short silence fell upon them before Meredith spoke up once again.

"Jackson's a good guy. He's good for you. And he likes you a lot," continued Meredith carefully as her soft green eyes monitored Cristina's face for any sort of reaction.

"I know," came Cristina's again disyllabic response.

"Okay. Then what are you still doing here?" Frustration leaked slowly into Meredith's voice as she stared at Cristina, trying to decipher the emotions and thoughts that went on behind the emotionless facade.

"I don't know." Cristina paused, suddenly deep in thought. "I wish I knew though." And with this, she abruptly turned and looked Meredith directly in the eye.

"What?" Meredith looked back questioningly at Cristina.

"How did you know?" Cristina's expression was unreadable.

"How did I know what?" The look on Meredith's face showed her complete incomprehension of Cristina's words.

"How did you know Derek was the right one for you?" asked Cristina plainly.

"What are you talking about and how does this relate to what we're talking about now?" Meredith's face now sported a look of confusion as she stared back incredulously at Cristina.

"Why'd you choose McDreamy over the McVet? You said were going to toss a coin and decide, but then you picked McDreamy without using a coin. So how did you know he was the one for you?"

"You're actually being serious?" Meredith looked doubtfully at Cristina, her eyes searching meticulously for any signs of teasing amusement in Cristina's soft brown eyes. When she saw none, surprise flashed briefly across her face as she realised Cristina was in fact asking a genuine question.

"Just answer the question, Mer!" Patience was definitely not one of Cristina's virtues.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Fine. I chose Derek because I love him. Is that good enough?"

"But you said he was the one even though Finn was obviously the better guy. Why didn't you pick Finn?" continued Cristina persistently as she met Meredith's questioning gaze with an unwavering stare.

"I don't know why. In fact, I don't think there was even a logical reason why I chose Derek especially when he didn't choose me when he had to choose. But love makes you do stupid things and I guess I'm just in love," replied Meredith simplistically.

Cristina paused for a second and she studied Meredith's face scrutinisingly with a slight expression of awe. "Who are you and what have you done with Meredith Grey?"

Meredith rolled her eyes in response although the corners of her mouth lifted ever so faintly in amusement before her expression was serious again. "Want to talk about it?" she offered. Something was definitely playing on Cristina's mind, but Meredith didn't want to pressure Cristina into disclosing any details.

"We don't do feelings, remember?" retorted Cristina as she took a sip of the coffee.

"Well, I'm here if you need me," said Meredith as she turned to walk away.

"Mer. Wait," called Cristina suddenly. Meredith turned around and looked at her questioningly. Desperation dominated Cristina's face as she stared back at Meredith. "You're my person. What do I do?"

Meredith sighed. "You know that I can't choose for you Cristina. And even if I could, I'd probably choose wrong. I'm not you. I can't choose. Only you can," she said as she looked sympathetically at Cristina; a few years ago she had found herself stuck in a similar position of indecision with the two fine choices of Derek and Finn laid out before her. "I didn't love Finn," she said matter-of-factly. "I didn't know if I really even loved Derek then or not, but _I chose him_. Even though I knew he'd hurt me again, I chose him and I've never regretted it." She paused momentarily while her eyes stared piercingly into Cristina's. "You chose to stay in Seattle, Cristina, even though you had every reason to leave. Do you regret that?" And with those final words, Meredith turned and left her person with many thoughts to ponder.

* * *

Meredith's words gave Cristina much to think about and the cogs in her mind began to work in overdrive as she found her mind being bombarded with mountains of thoughts. She soon found her legs carrying her along the once-familiar path towards a place out of time and out of space; a place that would clear her head and allow her to think clearly. The heavy metal door of the boiler room clanged loudly behind her as she walked in and positioned herself onto the cold metallic grates of the vent. She stood there for a second, surrounded by the deafening quiet of the room. Then, she heard a small whoosh echoing up through the metal grates before strong and calming gusts of air swirled around her and toyed playfully with her wild ebony curls. With every blast of air that swept over her she felt a calming sensation wash over her and she closed her eyes slowly, letting herself be drawn further into her own realm of thoughts.

'_Take care now.'_ What did those words even mean? Those words had slipped out of her very own mouth just a mere few days ago without her knowing the meaning behind them. Owen frustrated her. He had confused her; he had hid the truth from her and he had never been completely honest with her about his feelings for Teddy. All of which should have been unforgivable. And yet, two years later, he still made her feel a multitude of emotions that she had never experienced before and awoke the beast within her that had been dormant since Burke's departure years ago. The attraction she felt towards him was undeniable. She was drawn towards him like a piece of iron lost in a powerful magnetic field.

But then there was Jackson; Jackson who had stuck by her side through thick and thin for the past two years, his friendship and loyalty completely unwavering. He had been there in some of her darkest times and he had been the safety net that caught her when she had fallen two years ago. He was a good-looking, caring and selfless with a promising career as a surgeon which was a rare combination, b_ut he just wasn't Owen._

Meredith's words echoed loudly in her mind. _'I chose Derek. Even though I knew he'd hurt me again, I chose Derek and I don't regret it. You chose to stay in Seattle. Do you regret that?' _She had had _no reason_ to choose to stay in Seattle when the Chief had made her the offer, but yet she did. She had had _every reason_ turn down Harper Avery's offer to return to Seattle, but yet she didn't. She, Cristina Yang, was a rational person who never had let feelings or emotions get in the way of her reaching her full potential as a surgeon, but now she was making a string of irrational decisions with no sensible basis or reasoning. Something had changed her. _Someone_ had changed her. Just like the time she had been ready to give up on love, _someone_ had waltzed into her life and turned it all around by kissing her senseless before leaving her wanting more. Someone had made her feel alive and had taught her how to love again. Another gust of wind blew through the metal grates and danced in the air around her. Thought had begun piecing themselves together in her mind and it became more and more apparent to Cristina that there was no decision to make. The choice was clear. With this final thought in mind, she lingered on the vent for a moment longer before leaving the boiler room as the heavy metal door clanged shut behind her.

* * *

Jackson collapsed into an exhausted heap into one of the hard plastic chairs in the lobby of the hospital. He had spent the past two hours futilely looking for Cristina in the vast areas of the hospital. He had asked Meredith, George and even Alex who had just gotten out of a long surgery. _There was simply no way of finding Cristina Yang if she didn't want to be found_. He sighed loudly as waves of tiredness rippled over him. He had been a fool to deliver a heartfelt confession to Cristina when she obviously wasn't ready for it.

Suddenly, a soft familiar voice came quietly from somewhere behind him. "Jackson. Hey."

He turned around and found himself face-to-face with the object of his fruitless searches. Cristina had already changed from her dark blue scrubs into a set of worn-looking street clothes.

"Cristina." His attempts at concealing the astonishment he felt was futile as his tone reeked surprise. "Where've you been? I've been looking everywhere for you."

"I just needed some time to think," replied Cristina offhandedly as she brushed off his comment about searching for her.

"I don't want to pressure you," said Jackson quickly as he got to his feet. "Confessing was probably one of the stupidest things I've done."

"No. I'm actually kind of glad you told me. I never actually noticed," shrugged Cristina as she adjusted the weight of her shoulder bag.

"Really, huh?" Jackson tried to keep the scepticism out of his voice as he attempted to keep his expression from betraying the apprehension he felt at what Cristina was going to say. Her face was expressionless although Jackson swore he saw guilt flashed across her face momentarily. "Do you want to talk?" he asked casually, fearing the worst.

"Jackson, I'm sorry." They were the only words that came to her mind as she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt staring in Jackson's gentle green eyes.

Instead of the cold dread he had expected to flood him as a result of her words, he felt a strange sense of acceptance mixed with a bit of regret. "So it's him?" This was more of a statement than a question. He released the breath he didn't even know he was holding as he leant back in his chair and folded his arms.

Cristina sensed that Jackson needed some sort of explanation for her choices so she sat down quietly on the seat next to him. She paused for a moment, struggling to find the right words to use. "You're a great guy. You're a wonderful guy. And you might probably even the better guy. But..." she trailed off quietly.

"But he's the one?" persisted Jackson as his green eyes monitored Cristina's face for any emotion that would betray her true emotions.

"I don't know. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. I don't know." If her earnest tone didn't convince him of her uncertainty, then the sincerity in her eyes did.

Jackson exhaled loudly again. "You know, he's going to hurt you again. And when he does, I won't be there. Take care of yourself, Cristina," he said as he leant gently towards her and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, his lips lingering there for a moment longer as he savoured the softness of her skin for the final time.

"Thanks Jackson. Thanks for everything." With that, her arms snaked around him and engulfed him tightly in a big bear hug which conveyed her gratitude for everything he had done and all the sacrifices he had made for her over the past two years.

* * *

Owen could barely conceal the smile on his face as he walked past the bustling OR hallway on his way to the lobby. _Cristina had finally agreed to hear him out. _The day couldn't have gone by fast enough as he found himself counting down the minutes until his shift officially finished. His mind had been working in overdrive ever since Cristina had proposed having a talk over drinks and he had been trying to figure out ways of explaining everything to her, but there was just so much to say. He had spent the whole day convincing himself be completely honest with Cristina and tell her everything despite the small voice of shame convincing him otherwise in the back of his mind. But the stronger voice of hope dominated most of his thoughts telling him that maybe him and Cristina weren't a lost cause and that maybe even after these two years she could and would still love him. The letter and note Teddy had left him seemed to weigh a ton in his pocket as he walked briskly towards the lobby. _He would tell her everything._

As he rounded the corner and entered the bustling lobby, the sight that greeted him in the distance stopped him in his tracks and the smile that had presided over his face vanished instantly. On the grey plastic chairs of the bustling lobby was Cristina who happened to be pulling none other than Jackson Avery into an incredibly intimate and tight embrace. Pain seared through him like a white hot iron and he felt a strange sense of loss as an ice-cold feeling ran through his veins, instantly extinguishing the small kindle of hope that had been ignited within him since his sighting of Cristina when she had returned to Seattle. _She had moved on._ Without sparing a final glance at the embracing couple, he turned and walked back towards the ER with his mind completely devoid of thoughts and his body completely numb from any emotion except for the throbbing pain he felt in his chest.


	16. Chapter 16: Disorientation

**Author's Note:** Enjoy! _Thanks Danielle for the heads up!_

* * *

A few seconds later, Cristina released Jackson from the tight friendly hug and looked at him with her soft brown eyes. She felt a small pang of regret, but also as if a heavy weight she'd been carrying around all day had been lifted off her shoulders.

"When did you go all soft and mushy?" teased Jackson, his expression completely mocking. The only sign of the devastation left by Cristina's rejection was in his eyes which were tinted with a slight hint of sadness.

"Shut up," retorted Cristina as she whacked him on the arm lightly. Suddenly, the grandfather clock that sat near the entrance rang loudly, startling both Jackson and Cristina.

"It's eight already. I should probably call Freischlag and tell him I'm accepting the position as a cardio attending at Johns Hopkins," Jackson remarked as he stood up slowly. "Coming?" he asked as Cristina didn't budge.

"Actually, I'm meeting Owe- someone here. But I'll see you later at the apartment?" came Cristina's quick reply. She'd rather not complicate things by having Owen see her with Jackson; things were awkward enough between them as it was.

"Oh. Okay. See you later then, Yang," replied Jackson with an all-knowing look. He knew that the 'someone' Cristina was meeting was Hunt, but he grudgingly accepted this fact without a word. With a final nod, he left the lobby leaving Cristina with her growing apprehension at the 'date' ahead being her only company.

* * *

Half an hour later, Cristina was fed up and frustrated. The apprehension she had formerly felt had dissipated and transformed into silent rage. She felt completely humiliated at having waited so long thinking that Owen would actually bother turning up. Her building anger blinded her from the possibility that Owen may have been caught up with last-minute trauma or hospital-related complications. Instead, all she saw was herself looking pathetic and emotional, sitting by herself waiting for someone who probably wasn't going to show up.

She checked her watch again. Eight-thirty four PM. She was fed up with waiting. She had waited two years just for the truth to come out and she refused to wait anymore. _To hell with Owen and his explanations_, she thought bitterly as she forcefully swung her bag onto her shoulder before she walked out of the lobby fuming. She found herself making the familiar journey to the Emerald City bar and making her way through the busy bar in search of an empty seat.

She seated herself angrily onto one of the unoccupied bar stools by the counter.

"Tequila." She threw the short monosyllabic word towards Joe as she began cracking a handful of peanuts from the bowl in front of her with more force than necessary.

"Tough day?" asked Joe sympathetically as he poured Cristina a shot of the clear, water-like liquid.

Cristina responded by downing the shot in one go as held out her glass expectantly for another one. "Yeah."

Joe looked at her understandingly before he poured her another shot. "Well then this one's on the house."

Cristina nodded her thanks before throwing down them fiery liquid again in one go. She needed a way to drown her humiliation and tequila seemed like the perfect outlet for it.

* * *

_Ring Ring. Ring Ring._

Meredith's phone vibrated loudly on the on-call room table beside the bed she was sleeping on as her hand immediately shot out from the warm covers and wandered across the table, searching for the source of the disturbance.

"Hello?" she groaned sleepily into it.

"Meredith?" Joe's voice was filled with worry.

"Joe. It's nearly eleven. I'm on-call and I have an early shift tomorrow." Meredith rolled onto her back sleepily.

"Oh. Sorry. It's Cristina. She's been sitting here for the past two hours and the only word she's said is 'tequila'. And I'm kinda starting to get worried about her."

Meredith's eyes instantly fluttered open at the mention of Cristina. "What? Isn't she with anyone else? Jackson? Hunt?" she asked.

"Nope. She's had about eight or nine shots of tequila and she's still asking for more. Can you help me out?" pleaded Joe, the noise of the bar drowning out his last few words.

"Alright. Don't let her go anywhere. I'll see you in ten." With that, Meredith hung up the phone and rolled quickly off the bed before she headed off to the Residents' locker room to get changed.

"How long has she been like this?" Meredith asked Joe as she drew near the counter of the Emerald City Bar.

"Since she came in at about eight-forty. If I served her any more alcohol, I'd be breaking the law," explained Joe, looking relieved at the sight of Meredith. "She lives across the street so there was no point in calling a cab for her."

"Cristina?" called Meredith tentatively as she seated herself on the empty barstool next to Cristina. No response. Meredith tried again. "Come on, let's get you home. It's getting late and you have to be at the hospital tomorrow." Still no response. "No more tequila," said Meredith firmly as she pried the shot glass from Cristina's hand. "We're leaving now." She tried to support the semi-conscious Cristina. "Joe, could you pass me her bag?" she asked as she wrapped her arm around Cristina's thin waist. Ignoring the curious stares from the other patrons of the bar, she slowly guided the extremely intoxicated Cristina out of the bar.

* * *

Meredith had managed to fasten a seatbelt around Cristina in the back seat of her car in the empty hospital parking lot with a great deal of difficulty as Cristina was too inebriated to cooperate. Her mind was filled with questions about how Cristina had even ended up so drunk, but now was not the time to ask since Cristina was clearly in no state to answer anything. As she seated herself in the driver's seat, she made a split-second decision to take Cristina back to her house rather than the apartment since she had no idea whether Jackson would be there to take care of Cristina or not.

Twenty minutes later, she pulled up slowly in her driveway as small droplets of moisture began to fall from the sky. Meredith cursed silently under her breath as she wrapped an arm around Cristina's thin frame and grabbed her shoulder bag with another before guiding her slowly up the driveway. She managed to successfully unlock the door with one hand whilst supporting Cristina and the bag in the other. The door swung openly silently as Meredith steered Cristina gently up the stairs and into the bedroom. Lying on the bed was Derek Shepherd clad in loose grey top and baggy sweatpants fast asleep and utterly oblivious to the new occupants of the room.

Cristina was already half-asleep as Meredith led her softly over to the unoccupied half of the bed. She glanced at the sleeping Derek and a small smirk flitted across her face as the image of Derek's face when he woke up to find Cristina Yang sleeping next to him appeared in her mind. Meredith gently yanked the corner of thin doona out from Derek's sleeping figure and covered Cristina's sleeping form with it. A sigh of contentment escaped Cristina's lips as the blankets were pulled over her and she snuggled tightly against the pillow, a slightly troubled-looking frown lingering on her face.

Meredith stood there and stared at Cristina's peaceful sleeping form before she walked quietly over to Derek's side and gently planted a small kiss on his forehead as she left soundlessly to head back to the hospital.

* * *

Being a light-sleeper, Derek had felt the shift in weight of the bed a few minutes before familiar pair of soft lips brushed gently against his face and he smiled contentedly. A few seconds later, his hand wandered instinctively over to Meredith's side of the bed and he turned his body to spoon her. The waist his arm had wrapped itself around was a lot thinner than he remembered and the wild curls he buried his face in was a stark contrast to the tame straight hair he was used to. He withdrew his arms immediately as he sat up immediately, all thoughts of sleep had vanished from his mind as he stared at the unfamiliar figure lying beside him. Upon recognition, he recoiled almost instantly as he instinctively shrunk back into the furthest corners of the double bed. He slowly inched the rest of his body towards his side of the bed until he felt himself teetering over the edge. He groaned inwardly as he held onto his pillow like a lifeline, hoping that when he woke up, this strange 'experience' would turn out to be just a dream.

* * *

The melody of chirping birds drifted in through the open window of Meredith and Derek's bedroom, rousing Cristina from her peaceful slumber. The sunlight filtered in through the thin material of the curtains as Cristina's eyes slowly fluttered open. The unfamiliar surroundings that greeted her made her sit up immediately. This sudden movement left her head spinning as the full effects of her drinking spree from the previous night caught up with her. She jumped out of bed and with a hand over her mouth she dashed for the bathroom, trying to hold back the waves of nausea she felt.

Ten minutes later, she lay exhausted against the toilet bowl after having emptied the entire contents of her stomach. She stood up slowly and she experienced wave of disorientation as dizziness from the movement rushed over her. She grabbed frantically at the white bathroom sink in the hope of steadying herself and finding a sense of balance. After recovering some sense of equilibrium, she made her way slowly back towards the bed, latching onto whatever objects that were in reached to stabilise herself. When she finally made it to the bed, she collapsed onto it, exhausted from her efforts of walking back from the bathroom. Ten minutes later, her sense of balance had returned leaving her with a pounding headache. She rolled over slowly when something on the bedside table caught her eye; a glass of water, a bottle of aspirin and a hurriedly scribbled note. Cristina reached for the aspirin and washed a couple of tablets with the aid of the water. Her hands then reached for the smooth white sheet of paper.

_Yang, there's a flask of coffee on the kitchen table for you._

Cristina's eyes widened in surprise as her eyes fell on the name scrawled neatly at the bottom. _– Derek Shepherd. _She was going to kill Meredith if she had slept in the same bed as McDreamy by herself; her eyes drifted almost unwilling the other half of the bed where the sheets were still crinkled which caused her to shudder slightly at the thought. The events of last night came back as only small flashbacks; she remembered waiting in the lobby before heading over to Joe's, but the events that followed were foggy and unclear. Cristina groaned inwardly. She could have publicly humiliated herself last night and not even remember it. _What a great way to start the day_, she thought sarcastically as she rolled off the bed and made her way unsteadily downstairs, bumping into several pieces of furniture along the way.

* * *

An hour later, Cristina had managed to dial the number of the cab company, make it home and shower. The stale, alcoholic smell was gone and the only reminder that remained of the events from the previous night came in the form of a persistent and pounding headache. She checked her watch. _Ten-forty two AM._ She was due in at the hospital by eleven.

"Cristina?" A sleepy-looking Jackson suddenly appeared in the doorway. "You're back. You left your key behind so I stayed up a bit just in case you decided to come back," he said as he rubbed his eyes blearily.

"Oh. Sorry," was Cristina's short reply. Bits and pieces of what had happened the night before were slowly returning to Cristina. She remembered more clearly now waiting in the lobby for over half an hour, hoping that Owen would show up. She also remembered the humiliation she felt at having being stood up by him. This kindled a spark of anger within Cristina which slowly grew into a blazing bonfire of rage.

Jackson sensed Cristina's sudden change in mood as her usually soft brown eyes blazed with anger. _Damn it, Hunt,_ Jackson thought, _can't you even manage taking a girl on a date without screwing it up? _He made a mental note to himself that the next time he saw Owen Hunt, they were going to have what polite company would call a 'talk'. Sensing the rage slowly growing inside Cristina, Jackson decided to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"So, you're going to be okay living here on your own?" he asked as he leant casually against the doorway.

"Why wouldn't I be?" retorted Cristina, staring back at him indignantly as she pushed the thoughts from last night into the back of her mind.

"Living by yourself isn't safe. All I'm saying is that maybe you should consider getting a room mate or something."

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Izzie, George and Alex all live in Meredith's frat house with McDreamy. Callie has shacked up with roller skate peds girl. Little Grey is living with Sloan which leaves the Chief and Bailey. And those options are no-go zones. So unless you have anyone else in mind, my apartment is staying my apartment."

"Fine," said Jackson a little grudgingly. He knew Cristina could take care of herself, yet he couldn't help but worry about her sometimes.

"So, if you're done lecturing me, I'll see you at the hospital," said Cristina as she grabbed her signature shoulder bag before she brushed past Jackson, keen to get her hands onto a beating heart to dampen the anger she felt from the events of last night.

* * *

Owen stood charting quietly at the nurses' station, his blue fountain pen scrawled neatly across the lined page whilst his mind was miles away his own realm of thoughts. He had had a restless night with a mere two hours of rest as numerous thoughts of Cristina had tugged on his mind all night long, deterring all other thoughts of sleep.

"Hunt." Derek's tired clipped tones sounded from somewhere nearby as he suddenly appeared beside Owen at the nurses' station. He looked exhausted with dark puffy bags encircling his eyes as he sported an extraordinarily large cup of coffee.

"Shepherd," nodded Owen in response. "Didn't you sleep at all?" Owen's mouth lifted in a small smirk as his eyes fell upon abnormally-large sized coffee in Derek's hand.

"You don't look that much better," retorted Derek as he noted the dark patches that had formed under Owen's eyes which contrasted with his ghostly pale skin.

"Just rough night," came Owen's short reply as he returned his attention back to the chart in front of him. He tried to ignore the throbbing pain he felt growing in his chest as the scene of Cristina with Jackson from last night replayed itself over and over again in his head.

Derek didn't seem to have noticed Owen's sudden shift in mood as he continued. "Tell me about it. I woke up in the middle of the night to find Cristina Yang in my bed where Meredith should have been," commented Derek, stifling a yawn.

Owen's head shot up immediately. "What?" He wasn't sure if he had heard correctly.

"Cristina Yang. In my bed. In the middle of the night. Instead of my girlfriend. I'm going to have nightmares," Derek groaned.

"What was Cristina doing in your bed?" Owen tried to keep his tone casual, but his eyes betrayed his emotions as they burned brightly with sudden curiosity fuelled by this new piece of information. Why would Cristina be in Derek Shepherd's bed after he had seen her in an extremely intimate embrace with Jackson Avery?

"You're going to have to ask Meredith that," he grimaced. _Beep Beep._ Derek's pager went off loudly as his hand reached to grab it. "Crap. 911," he said as he glanced at the tiny screen. "I'll talk to you later, Hunt." And with that, he deposited his empty coffee cup into the nearest bin before he disappeared into through the closing elevator door leaving Owen burning with curiosity.

Barely a minute passed before his own pager sounded loudly. _Ambulance Bay – STAT_. Owen tried to push all thoughts of Cristina out of his mind as he walked briskly towards the Pit.


	17. Chapter 17: Awakening

Owen quickly donned a clean trauma gown as he walked briskly through the doors of the ambulance bay. Lexie Grey who had been assigned to his service today was already outside in a bright yellow trauma gown waiting for the ambulance. Standing beside her was a familiar mass of black curls wearing a set of dark navy scrubs and a thin white coat against the biting winter breeze. His heart sped up immediately at the sight of Cristina, but he managed to keep his expression casual and relaxed as he walked briskly up to the younger Grey, purposefully steering clear of Cristina.

"Dr. Hunt," acknowledged Lexie as Owen drew nearer.

"Grey, what've we got?" He snapped on a pair of thick white latex gloves as he joined the duo.

"Major chest wounds with a ruptured spleen and massive internal bleeding." Lexie handed the chart over to Owen.

"What'd I miss?" Alex suddenly joined the group as he struggled to untangled the flimsy strings of his trauma gown.

"You're late, Karev," came Cristina's voice abruptly, causing Owen to turn sharply and look at her. Her voice was strangely cold and completely devoid of emotion as she stared blankly ahead.

"What?" replied Alex almost indignantly as he too donned his own pair of gloves.

Before Cristina could reply, an ambulance rounded the corner and screeched to a stop in front of them, sirens blaring and lights flashing, effectively ending the conversation. Its back doors burst open as two uniformed ambulance officers emerged from it, wheeling out a stretcher laden with a patient.

"Unidentified male. Mid twenties. He passed out behind the wheel and his car collided with a truck. The other driver died instantly at the scene," informed the ambulance officer as they wheeled the patient through the hospital doors. "Witnesses say his car flipped three or four times before it came to rest against a tree."

"Trauma 1 is ready," called a nurse as she passed Cristina a pair of latex gloves.

The group walked efficiently through the bustling ER and into the unoccupied trauma room.

"I see broken fragments of glass in his chest, probably from the windscreen of the car, so we're going to need to get him to an OR. Karev, go book one and make sure it's prepped and ready. Do they know why he passed out?" asked Cristina as she gingerly examined the wounds on the patient's chest.

"No idea. We're hoping you could figure that out," came the ambulance officer's reply as he signed the patient off before he left the trauma room.

Minutes later, Alex returned already dressed in the blue surgical gown. "OR 2 is booked and ready."

"He's lost a lot of blood. Grey, run a blood test on the patient and get as much type specific blood as they'll let you have and meet us in OR 2," said Owen as he scribbled down swiftly onto the patient's chart.

"On my way," replied Lexie as she withdrew the blood sample and snapped off her gloves, depositing them in the medical waste bins on her way out.

Suddenly, Dr. Bailey's head appeared through the door of the trauma room. "Hunt, Yang, can either of you spare a resident?"

"Grey." "Karev." Owen and Cristina spoke at the same time.

Dr. Bailey simply stared at the two of them in response and a bemused expression crossed her face. "Which one?"

"Alex is here. You can have Karev," said Cristina quickly, ignoring the piercing blue eyes that stared curiously at her.

"What?" complained Alex. "Seriously?"

"Alright. Come on Karev, you're with me." Bailey's eyes flickered with interest between Owen and Cristina. Alex swore softly under his breath but complied, throwing off his blue surgical gown with ill-grace, leaving Cristina alone with Owen and his piercing stare.

* * *

An awkward yet tense atmosphere presided over Owen and Cristina as they finished examining the unconscious patient before wheeling the heavy stretcher down the bustling OR hallway towards the operating room without a single word exchanged between the two of them. Cristina had decided on giving Owen the cold shoulder all day but that fact that they were going to be stuck together in the same OR for a procedure and multiple repairs that would take well over six hours wasn't a welcome idea.

"So, you uh- you slept in the same bed as Shepherd?" Owen voiced the first thought that came to his mind as he had began to find the silence between them extremely uncomfortable and unbearable; also he wanted desperately to hear her voice again and to know that they could still be friends despite everything that had happened.

His question was answered with silence. He sighed. He hadn't expected this kind of response from Cristina. He knew that he had stood her up, but he wanted her to understand that he did it for her. From what he saw last night, she seemed happier with Jackson Avery. All he wanted was for her to be happy, even if it wasn't with him. "Cristina. At least talk to me," he pleaded again as they entered the OR where the nurses took over and began prepping the patient.

Cristina ignored him once again as she headed off to the scrub room to scrub in for the surgery. Owen sighed loudly as he watched her walk off. _This is going to be a long six hours_, he thought quietly to himself.

* * *

Two hours into the surgery, barely a word had been exchanged between Owen and Cristina as they stood opposite each other, separated by the operating table and working in their respective areas on the patient; the chest and the abdomen. Lexie had arrived fifteen minutes into the surgery laden with multiple bags of type-specific blood and she had already begun to crack under the incredibly tense atmosphere of the OR. Occasionally Owen's eyes would drift almost unwilling towards Cristina's end of the table, but he would immediately avert them back to the patient's insides whenever Cristina caught him staring.

Unable to stand the silence anymore, Owen spoke up. "How's it going up there, Dr. Yang?" he asked conversationally as he carefully extracted a shard of scrap metal that was presumably from the wreckage of the car, out of the patient's abdomen.

"Fine," came Cristina's blunt reply which attracted not only curious stares, but also the attention of the gossip-hungry nurses behind her.

"All stable?" persisted Owen, trying to provoke some kind of remotely more humane response from Cristina.

"All sta-" Suddenly, blood spurted out from the patient's chest, thinly coating Cristina and the unfortunate scrub nurse beside her. Her hand fumbled blindly around in the patient's chest as she attempted unsuccessfully to locate the source of the bleed.

"I need some suction now. Paddles," she called out as Lexie appeared beside her, armed with the suction tool. Despite Lexie's best efforts, blood had begun to flood the patient's chest cavity and the patient began to code.

"He's in V-fib," informed Owen as he looked up from his repair on the patient's intestines.

"I know," Cristina snapped back as she grabbed the paddles off the nurse and positioned them quickly on the patient's heart. She hadn't meant to lash out at Owen like that, but he seemed to be the only outlet for the rage that had accumulated inside her. "Clear," she called as she shocked the patient. No response. "Clear," she called again as she shocked the patient for the second time. The monitors came to life and began beeping rhythmically as the patient's heart began beating regularly again. Cristina let out a small sigh of relief as her fingers worked quickly, trying in vain to locate the bleed. "More suction," she demanded.

"I can't. There's just too much blood," replied Lexie as she tried futilely to provide Cristina with a better visualisation of the patient's heart.

"If I don't find the source of the bleeder, then the patient will go into v-fib again and we might not be able to save him this time," retorted Cristina frantically. "I need more hands, dammit."

"Dr. Grey, hold this still while I give Dr. Yang a hand," said Owen as he placed another clamp into the patient's abdomen.

Cristina remained silent as Lexie quickly switched places with Owen. She didn't acknowledge him as his hands joined hers in the patient's chest although she flinched involuntarily as an anticipative tingle ran through her when his hand brushed lightly against hers as they worked. With Owen's help, it took Cristina's nimble fingers only a matter of minutes to locate the bleeder and perform a meticulous repair.

* * *

When Cristina emerged from the OR, the patient was still critical, but stable. They hadn't yet determined the reason why the patient had blacked out behind the wheel, but they would run tests later when the patient was less critical. She had dashed for the OR door the minute she closed up the patient's chest, not giving Owen the chance to say anything as she made her speedy escape into the scrub room. If she stayed confined in the same space as Owen any longer, she would explode and release all the emotions she had bottled up loud and clear in front of an audience of nurses, interns and anaesthesiologists.

Owen stared after her disappearing back and he couldn't blame her for making such a speedy escape from the confined space of the OR. Through the transparent glass that separated the operating room from the scrub room, he watched her deposit her surgical gown into one of the baskets as he tried to convince himself that the best thing he could do for her was to stay away and let her be happy.

* * *

Jackson had spent the morning packing his belongings into the two large travel bags that were now lying beside the door. As much as he hated to admit it, he would miss Seattle. But most of all, _he would miss Cristina._ As he packed his final items of clothing into one of the already-crowded travel bags, he paused for a second as the image of the bitter anger that flashed Cristina's soft brown eyes that morning resurfaced his mind. He fought the urge to find Owen Hunt and kick his ass for screwing with Cristina again. Cristina deserved better than that, but it was clear to anyone that she still loved Hunt. He checked his watch. _Six twenty-two PM. _His plane left in eight and a bit hours. _Plenty of time_, Jackson thought begrudgingly to himself as he grabbed a set of keys before he headed out the doors and towards the hospital.

* * *

Owen Hunt stood outside an empty trauma room, still dressed in the blue surgical gown as he filled out the sheet clipped to the blue clipboard he was holding. The John Doe he had operated on was still unidentified and the police were still searching through their databases trying to find a match. Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes upon him and he looked up to find Jackson Avery staring at him from a few feet away.

"What?" The question slipped instinctively out of his mouth as he tried to keep his expression neutral so as not to betray any of the emotions he felt inside of him.

"Can I get a word with you, Hunt?" This was more of a statement than a question as Owen found himself roughly backed into the empty trauma room as Jackson shut the door behind them. "What the hell's wrong with you?" asked Jackson the minute they stepped inside the trauma room.

Owen's face was a mask of shock mingled with surprised as he stared incredulously back at the younger man. "Excuse me?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" repeated Jackson as he took a small step towards Owen, drawing himself up to his full height.

Owen was not intimidated by Jackson's hostile behaviour, in fact, he seemed somewhat confused. "What's that supposed to mean?" Owen's incomprehension of Jackson's words was written all over his face.

"Last night. You were supposed to take Cristina out on a date or something, but Cristina ended up alone at Joe's until Meredith drove her to her house. So what the hell is wrong with you?" Jackson's voice rose with each word as the gaze from his hard emerald green eyes clashed against Owen's sapphire ones.

"I didn't-" began Owen but Jackson cut him off.

"She's been through hell since two years ago when you ended things with her after you got Altman knocked up. And now you-" He didn't finish as it was now Owen's turn to cut Jackson off.

"I didn't get Teddy pregnant," came Owen's blunt reply as he stared unfalteringly back at the younger man.

"You lied to her about that too?" Jackson's voice was filled with incredulity and slight loathing.

"No." Owen reached into the pocket of his white coat and pulled out the crinkled sheet and letter Teddy had left him. He stretched out his arm and offered the letters to Jackson. "Read it." The sheet and statistics could explain what words simply couldn't.

A short silence fell upon them as Jackson's eyes flickered across the page. Owen watched as Jackson's green eyes widened in shock and the grip on the sheet weakened slightly.

"What? Altman lied?" Jackson's voice was filled with shock as he stared transfixed at the crinkled paper.

"This is what I was going to show Cristina yesterday," said Owen quietly as he reached out for the sheet.

"This doesn't change anything though, Hunt," said Jackson after a brief pause as he returned the paper to Owen's waiting hands. Jackson's statement was met with a questioning look from Owen, but he continued anyway. "It doesn't change the fact that you lied to her two years ago. It doesn't change the fact that you stood her up last night when she gave you a chance to redeem yourself and it sure as hell doesn't change the fact that she deserves someone better than you." Jackson paused as he struggled for the right words. "But you're still the one she wants." The words slipped out of Jackson's mouth, surprising even himself, as the storm that had risen with each word in his eyes slowly died down with each word.

"What?" Shock flitted across Owen's face as he processed Jackson's last sentence. "She doesn't- she can't-" he struggled to find the appropriate words as the shock from Jackson's words surged through his veins.

"If only that were true," remarked Jackson bitterly as he took a step back from Owen. "She loves you, Hunt. Even after everything you've done to her, _she still loves you_."

"But, last night...?" Owen's eyebrows furrowed as the image of Cristina hugging Jackson tightly flickered across his mind.

Jackson laughed bitterly as the memory of the conversation between him and Cristina from last night resurfaced. "Last night, she turned me down right before her 'supposed-date' with you," stated Jackson, his face impassive.

Thoughts ran thick and fast through Owen's mind as he stared blankly back at Jackson. _Cristina turned Avery down?_ _And Cristina still loved him?_ It was almost as if a rug had been pulled out from under him and he was being ridiculed as the subject of a cruel joke. "She can't have turned you down. I'm no good for her, for anyone. She deserves something good, someone good," Owen argued half-heartedly his eyes again drifted towards the floor in shame.

"Yeah, I know, I'm the good guy," agreed Jackson. "In fact, I'm the better guy. But even after all she's been through, I'm not the guy she wants." Jackson tried to keep his expression casual, but a hint of pain still lingered in his eyes.

Owen paused for a moment as Jackson's words slowly sunk in. An expression of ambivalence crossed his face as his mind spun with thoughts. A look of resolve then occupied Owen's face; his jaw was taut and his eyes blazed with determination. "Where is she now?" he asked suddenly as his blue eyes meet Jackson's green ones.

"The attendings' lounge room on the second floor," replied Jackson quickly as he met Owen's steady yet determined gaze.

"Thank you, Avery. Thanks for everything," said Owen as he moved towards the door.

"Wait." Jackson's arm immediately shot in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. Owen looked questioningly back at Jackson. He didn't have time to waste. He needed to find Cristina right now and tell her how he felt. "If you screw with Cristina again, I swear to God I will come back and I will kick your ex-army ass," said Jackson solemnly before he withdrew his arm, allowing Owen to pass.

Owen wasn't annoyed at the younger man's bold proclamation; in fact he felt a sense of gratefulness and slight guilt wash over him. Cristina was lucky to have someone like Jackson who watched over her for the past two years. Owen mentally promised himself that he would take over and exceed Jackson's role in Cristina's life. He looked back seriously at Jackson for a moment and then nodded slightly in response before he walked briskly out of the room. He wouldn't screw up this time. He wouldn't screw up ever again.

Jackson watched Owen leave, a slightly wistful expression on his face. If only he could be the one Cristina loved. If only he was the one who would make Cristina Yang happy. _If only._

* * *

Cristina sat on silently on one of the lounges, cradling a half empty cup of coffee in the empty attendings' room as she reflected upon the events of the day. She was exhausted; not just physically, but both mentally and emotionally too. Giving Owen the cold shoulder throughout for the entire length of the surgery was more draining than she had anticipated. He hadn't made it any easier with his casual attempts at conversations and his quiet helpfulness in the OR. Sighing loudly, she polished off the rest of her coffee before aiming it in the direction of the half empty bin near the door. It didn't go in; instead it bounced off the rounded edge of the bin, rolled before it came to rest a few feet away from the bin. Cristina sighed loudly again. Today just wasn't her day. She sat there for a moment longer, staring blankly at the abandoned cup on the floor whilst her mind drifted off elsewhere.

Today had been exhausting and she didn't even want to think about tomorrow. _I need a drink, a man or a massage... or a drunken massage from a man_, Cristina thought sarcastically to herself. She decided to pick herself up and deposit the poorly-thrown coffee cup properly into the bin before she headed home. As she to grab the empty cup, the door of the room burst open and she found herself staring at a slightly out-of-breath Owen Hunt.

She stared blankly at him for a second, still holding the empty coffee cup before she deposited it quickly into the bin and moved to leave the room. Owen immediately moved and blocked her path with his body as his cerulean coloured eyes stared intensely down at her. Cristina looked up at him as an expression of bewilderment flickered across her face before it became emotionless again.

"You're in my way," she said bluntly after a brief moment of silence as she moved to walk around him. Instinctively, Owen's hand quickly reached and firmly grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving.

"I love you, Cristina." The words slipped out of his mouth as he found himself lost in the simply beauty of her soft chocolate brown eyes.

"Doesn't seem like it," retorted Cristina bitterly as she tried to shrug off his hold on her.

"No wait. Cristina, I can explain." His hold on her arm didn't loosen as he stared unfalteringly back at her.

Cristina stared back incredulously at him. He had lied to her, he had stood her up and now he was standing in front of her declaring his supposed love for her. She had had enough of his hot and cold behaviour. "You know when you should have explained? Two years ago. Before any of the rest of this happened. Yeah, that would have been a good time to explain." Her voice rose with each word as she freed herself from his grasp. The anger from last night resurfaced quickly inside her as it threatened to bubble over as she stared coldly back at him before she reached to the door.

Owen's hand beat her to the handle, closing the door tightly behind him as his other hand palmed itself determinedly against the smooth wooden surface. "Cristina. Please."

"Let go of the door, Owen," said Cristina in a tight, controlled voice although her brown eyes betrayed the rage that was building within her.

Owen refused to budge. "Let me explain," he replied in an equally controlled voice as the palm of his hand remained pressed firmly against the wooden door.

"Here's a thought; no." Cristina tried to pull the door open, but her tugging on the handle had no effect Owen's masculine strength.

Owen remained silent while his tortured blue eyes pleaded wordlessly with Cristina.

Cristina opened her mouth to protest as urgent knocking suddenly came from the other side of the door. Immediately, Owen withdrew his hand and Cristina yanked the door open, anxious to escape the confrontation with Owen. The door swung open and as she moved to leave, her eyes widened she found herself face to face with a set of two unfamiliar figures clad in white biochemical suits standing in front of her.

"Dr. Yang?" the figure asked as he glanced down at the sheet he was holding.

Cristina stared back incredulously at the pair. "Yes. What's happ-" The other figure cut her off.

"Is Dr. Hunt also in here?" it asked, glancing past Cristina's shoulder.

"Yes. What are you-" She was interrupted yet again.

"You were the ones who performed the surgery on John Doe half an hour ago?" asked the figure on the left.

"Yes. Why?" Owen spoke up from behind her as he stepped forward slightly.

"The driver of the truck involved in the accident had been exposed to the bubonic plague. It is possible that your patient may also have been exposed as a result of the accident," came the faceless reply.

"The bubonic plague?" echoed Owen, his voice laced with shock.

"Yes. This also means that both you and Dr. Yang may also have been exposed to the plague which could explain why he blacked out behind the wheel. We're currently waiting on the results of a blood test before we can make a proper diagnosis," answered the figure.

"I can't do this. I'm outta here," said Cristina feverishly as she moved leave. An arm sheathed in thick white material was extended immediately, blocking her route of departure.

"Unfortunately, we cannot release the two of you until we receive the results of the blood test."

"Are you kidding me?" retorted Cristina, almost disbelievingly.

"No ma'am. The two of you will be quarantined in this room until further notice. This room will be sealed to ensure the threat is contained and once the results of the blood test come out, we will notify you two immediately."

"Seriously?" asked Cristina, her voice incredulous. "This is seriously happening to me?"

"Seriously," replied one of the figures in the white suits as doorway was sealed up tightly with a thick murky sheet of plastic bearing a biohazard sign.

_Great. Real great_, thought Cristina bitterly as she turned back into the room where Owen stood watching her apprehensively with a determined look on his face. Fate definitely had a twisted sense of humour; she could be infected with the deadly plague and she could very well be dying for all she knew. And most of all, she was currently locked up in a confined space with Owen Hunt for an undefined length of time. She sighed inwardly as she resigned herself to turning around and slowly facing the waiting Owen.


	18. Chapter 18: Vicissitude

_Author's Note: Thanks everyone who left a review! I heard there was a problem with leaving a review before, but thanks to everyone who persevered and left one!_

* * *

Cristina turned around slowly towards the waiting Owen, but her eyes refused to meet his piercing azure ones as they remained focused on the dark burgundy carpet floor. She wasn't ready for a conversation with Owen and she was sick of giving him second chances when he clearly didn't deserve them. Yet they were going to be stuck in the same confined space until the results of the tests came out which would probably take hours, so she had no other choice but to face the music.

Owen stood there patiently, waiting for Cristina to speak first. The sense of urgency he had felt prior to the news of their quarantine had dissipated now that time was no longer an issue and all that was left was the need he felt to tell Cristina everything. He remembered how stubborn Cristina could be when she wanted to so he stood there silently as he waited for her to make the first move.

Minutes passed before Cristina gradually raised her gaze to meet Owen's waiting one and for a moment, she found herself lost in the vast ocean of Owen's gentle cerulean eyes as their eyes finally connected.

"Cristina, can we talk?" he asked as gently as he could.

"We've both been exposed to the bubonic plague and we could be dying and all you want to do is talk?" Cristina's voice was incredulous as she stared back at him.

"They don't know if it's the plague," Owen offered as he stepped closer to Cristina.

"So, what? The biohazard white suits are fashion statements now?" retorted Cristina as she ran a hand through her wild curls.

Owen smiled in spite of himself. Only Cristina could still make crude jokes under circumstances like this. "No. But, just hear me out," he begged softly. His plea was answered with silence as Cristina stared back at him.

"Fine." She broke the silence with the short monosyllabic word as she moved towards the couch and seated herself down on one of its soft cushioned ends.

Owen's face broke into a slight lop-sided grin as sudden relief washed over him. He released the breath he didn't even know he was holding as he walked slowly over and seated himself on the opposing end of the sofa. A short silence fell upon them as Owen struggled to find the words to begin with.

"I think you're beautiful." The words slipped out of his mouth as he found himself captivated by her beauty as the dim lighting of the room created a soft glow around her, emphasising her wide yet glossy curls that cascaded gently around her shoulders.

Cristina remained silent although her face softened slightly as the corner of her lips lifted unconsciously to form a barely detectable smile at Owen's unexpected proclamation. Seeing this sign of emotion flicker across Cristina's face gave Owen the courage to continue. "Remember how two years ago, I said I wanted to take you somewhere special after work?"

"I remember," came Cristina's short reply. The memories from that night were firmly implanted in her mind as it was the night that everything had changed. She had tried in vain to erase all the reminders of that night in the two years she had been away from Seattle.

"That night, I ran into Teddy about half an hour before I was going to find you and well, you know the rest from there." Owen's expression darkened considerably at the mention of Teddy.

Cristina merely nodded in response. The memory of her recent confrontation with Owen in the supply closet was still fresh in her mind.

"Well, there's more to it." Owen slowly into the right pocket of his white coat and withdrew the same folded sheets of paper he had shown Jackson earlier.

Cristina looked questioningly at the papers as she accepted them wordlessly from his extended hand and she unfolded one of them slowly. Her eyes widened almost instantly in shock as they skimmed quickly across the first line. The crinkled sheets fell from her weakening grasp and they landed softly in her lap as she turned and stared at Owen with an expression of shock. Her ability to speak had left her completely; it was almost as if the world had been flipped and illusions had suddenly become reality.

"Say something," pleaded Owen after a brief yet uncomfortable moment of silence as he stared cautiously at Cristina.

Cristina hesitated for a moment as dozens of thoughts filled her mind. "How long have you known?" Cristina's voice was quiet, but underneath the cover of the calm raged a growing storm.

"Not long," replied Owen swiftly, sensing what Cristina was getting at. "It's not like that, Cristina."

"Then what is it like, Owen?" Cristina's facade of calm had disappeared as the emotions inside of her began to seep out. "What else haven't you told me?" She now stared accusingly at him.

"This is everything," insisted Owen quickly. "I had no idea it wasn't mine. Believe me." His sincere blue eyes pleaded silently with her as he moved closer towards her on the couch.

"I don't know what to believe anymore," said Cristina simply as she stared back at him.

Owen didn't know how to reply. He knew he had jerked Cristina around two years ago by lying and hiding the truth from her, but now, when he was finally coming clean with her, she didn't trust him anymore. "Then tell me what to do because I'll do whatever it takes for you trust me again." An expression of conviction now dominated Owen's face as he stared unfalteringly back at her.

Cristina averted her gaze from Owen's determined eyes as she was suddenly at a loss at what to say. She wanted to say it was too late and that the damage that had been done to their relationship was now far beyond repair. She wanted to say she was done waiting and giving him anymore second chances. And yet, those words just didn't feel right. Her mind flashed instantly back to a conversation she had had three years ago.

_Flashback_

_The day had been unbelievably busy. An SUV carrying seven students whom were on their way to their graduation had collided with another vehicle, landing all seven passengers as well as two more from the other vehicle in the emergency room of Seattle Grace Hospital. From what she had seen, the two passengers from the other vehicle were seriously injured, but stable. As for the kids in the SUV, only four had been brought in so far and most were drifting in the space between life and death. The ER had been packed and bustling with activity as it tried to accommodate the sudden influx of trauma. She had been assigned to eighteen year-old Jordan who she had managed to stabilize despite the fact he had extremely critical injuries._

"_Dana. She okay?" croaked Jordan as he craned his neck slightly to look at Cristina._

"_The paramedics haven't brought her in yet, but as soon as they do I'll let you know," Cristina reassured him quickly as she picked up the transducer that was connected to the ultrasound machine. "Do you have any family we can contact?" she asked as she began examining his abdomen._

"_They're in Argentina. I was supposed to fly there tomorrow. It's D-Day." A bitter expression crossed Jordan's face._

"_It's what?" asked Cristina almost absentmindedly as she glanced at the screen of the monitor._

"_It's what Dana calls it," explained Jordan as he stared blankly ahead. "My parents don't have the money to let me stay so I have to go back. We both knew D-Day was coming. I tried to break up with her to make it easier. I switched classes every semester so that we didn't have any together. But it didn't matter; I couldn't stay away." He turned and looked at Cristina. "When you love someone, you know, love is love. It doesn't matter that you're not supposed to be together."_

_Jordan's words seemed to reflect Cristina and Owen's relationship perfectly as Cristina found herself suddenly questioning her very own actions since the incident with Owen. Suddenly, almost as if on cue, Owen burst into the room, clipboard in one hand, pen in the other and a stethoscope hung casually around his neck. Cristina was suddenly caught off-guard and she found herself gazing into a pair of deep, blue eyes. The connection broke off almost as quickly as it had started as Cristina quickly returned her gaze to the screen above the patient's head._

"_How's he doing?" asked Owen as he returned his own gaze to the clipboard._

"_Uh, he's starting to stabilise," Cristina said as she busied herself with putting away the transducer, ignoring the piercing stare she felt radiating from Owen._

"_Good, looks like he's ready for CT." Owen too busied himself with filling out the sheet attached to the clipboard in front of him._

"_Mhm," agreed Cristina absentmindedly._

_Suddenly, Jordan spoke up, drawing the attention of both Cristina and Owen. "I think," he paused."I think, maybe she got out in time. Maybe she's not hurt that bad. Because when I turned around, she wasn't there. She was not there anymore." Sobs punctuated Jordan's final words as sudden grief overcame him._

_Cristina paused and averted her gaze out of respect. Slowly, she turned her head slightly to sneak a glance at Owen, but all she caught was a glimpse of Owen disappearing through the wooden door._

_End of Flashback_

Cristina looked up slowly and electric blue eyes met soft brown ones. Like Jordan had said, love was love; sometimes, it didn't matter if things weren't supposed to be. Love had its way.

* * *

Meredith walked leisurely along the bustling corridor; the ER was quiet once again and Cristina was nowhere to be found. She turned the corner slowly and her eyes widened slightly as they took in the small crowd that had gathered around the nurses' station that was located in the same corridor as the attendings' room. She spotted Alex and Izzie in the middle of the crowd, counting a surprisingly large pile of cash that sat on the counter.

"What's everyone doing here?" asked Meredith as she joined them against the counter.

"Hunt and Yang," came Alex's nonchalant reply as he continued counting the bills.

"Cristina and Hunt are quarantined for the bubonic plague. In the same room. Together," explained Izzie as she noted Meredith's look of incomprehension.

"What? Why?" Meredith couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Dunno. But we're taking bets on the outcome. You want in?" asked Alex as he now began sorting the pile bills in order of value.

"You do know she's going to kill us, right?" laughed Meredith.

"Whatever. Least I'll die rich," Alex shrugged. "I'm betting on Yang anyway. Hunt has no chance of melting the Ice Queen. You should have seen her this morning."

Meredith laughed as she withdrew a note from her pocket. "Twenty on Cristina _since_ I'm supposed to be her person."

"Yeah right. You and I both know Hunt's got no chance," snorted Alex as he added Meredith's money to the pile.

Derek suddenly appeared behind Meredith and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "What's going on? Why is half the surgical floor standing here staring at a sealed door?" he asked curiously, taking in the growing crowd of people.

"Hunt and Cristina," replied Alex, Izzie and Meredith simultaneously.

"Oh. And I take it you're all betting on the outcome?" Derek eyed the growing pile of notes with suspicion.

"The odds are currently six to one; Yang's way," said Alex as he accepted a couple of bills from a passing scrub nurse.

"Ah. I see. Well, count me in," Derek reached into his own pocket and pulled out a few notes. "A hundred and fifty on Hunt."

Alex whistled loudly. "I feel bad taking your money just like this," he joked as he accepted the money from Derek's outstretched hand.

"Call it an investment."Derek kissed Meredith gently on the cheek once again. "I have surgery soon, but let me know how it goes. I'll see you at Joe's." And with that, he disappeared.

"If Cristina asks, I had nothing to do with this," said Meredith to Alex and Izzie.

They merely smirked in response as they began recounting the rising mountain of cash.

* * *

The next minute that passed was been spent in silence as Cristina and Owen stared back at each other. Owen waited patiently for Cristina to speak as Cristina struggled to find the right words to express herself.

"I can't deal with the hot and cold anymore. I tried before, but now I just can't," said Cristina, finally breaking the silence.

"I'm so sorry. I wish you didn't have to find things out now. I should have told you everything right from the start. I'm sorr-" began Owen before Cristina cut him off.

"Saying sorry won't change anything now, Owen."

"I know. I wish it could." Owen paused. "Let me make it up to you, Cristina. Let me try to be half the man you deserve."

"What are you saying?" Cristina looked questioningly at Owen.

"I'd like another chance. " His blue eyes stared back at her unwaveringly.

"Are you sure?" Cristina turned her head and looked at Owen almost skeptically.

It broke Owen's heart to hear doubt and uncertainty come through in Cristina's voice. "Yes. A life without you isn't a life worth living. I want you to give me another chance. Just, _meet me halfway_."

Cristina merely looked back warily at Owen as a blanket of silence descended slowly upon them. The voice of reason in her mind wanted so badly to deny him another chance and to shut herself off from him forever. Yet she couldn't. The words just wouldn't come out. After a long pause, Cristina finally spoke. "This is your last one. Anymore chances and I'm going to walk away and not look back."

The first genuine smile in two years crossed Owen's face and lit it up like a candle in the darkness. In her own distorted way, _s__he had said yes._ Relief flooded Owen's body and he felt a strange sense of giddiness that created an adrenaline-like effect. Slowly, like a piece of iron in a magnetic field, he leaned in towards her, capturing her rosy lips softly between his in a gentle yet passionate kiss.

Cristina had missed the sense of security and comfort of being in Owen's strong, yet secure embrace. The cloud of doubt and distrust still lingered in her thoughts, but she pushed it away. Taking a risk was like walking across a rotting wooden bridge above a rushing gorge; sometimes when you're so close to the end, there's an obstacle like a whole row of missing planks stopping you from reaching the end. When that happened, you could either around and walk away, or you could take a jump and pray like hell you made it. And now, Cristina Yang was taking a leap of faith. Her arms snaked themselves around Owen, drawing him closer as she pressed herself as closely as she could to his body.

This contact immediately reignited the kindle of hope and joy inside Owen's chest. The small kindle became a blazing bonfire of happiness as Owen leaned in further and deepened the kiss; his tongue explored the inside of her mouth excitedly for the first time in two years. The feeling of having Cristina in his arms gave him a kind of euphoric high since it just felt so right and so good. Now he had her, he had no intention of ever letting her go.

Owen suddenly exhaled sharply as Cristina's hands snuck smoothly under his scrub top as they reacquainted themselves with his firm, toned body. They ran gently up and down his abdomen, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps that erupted at her soft touch. After they had re-familiarised themselves with Owen's bare skin, they moved to the hem of Owen's scrub top, ready to remove it.

Immediately, Owen reached and grabbed her hands in his lightly. "Wait, Cristina. Wait." He pulled back slowly and looked at her carefully. "Not yet. We can't do it here," he protested gently.

"Why not?" Patience was not one of Cristina's virtues as she withdrew her hands from Owen's hold and folded her arms across her chest while she sat back, creating a small distance between her and Owen.

"I don't want us to be just about, you know, sex. We're more than that. I owe you more than that," explained Owen patiently as he inched closer to Cristina. "Plus, we're in quarantine right now."

"Fine." Cristina sighed loudly; Owen had a point. Also, she'd rather maintain her dignity and not be caught with her pants down by one of the faceless figures in those biohazard suits.

"Cristina, could I..." Owen hesitated, unsure whether or not to voice his thoughts.

"Mmm?" She looked curiously at him.

"Could I- Could I hold you?" he asked, almost shyly. He missed her touch already.

The corners of Cristina's lips lifted in a small smile as she obligingly moved closer towards Owen and settled herself comfortably in his waiting arms.

* * *

"What's the news?" Izzie returned from her mini-trip to the vending machine laden with drinks and snacks.

"Nothing so far. The plastic is blocking out most of the noise. But I'm guessing that Hunt's fighting a losing battl-" Alex broke off at the sudden appearance of Chief Webber.

"What the hell is going on here?" The whole corridor went silent as Richard glared around. "I have a hospital to run. I'm paying you to save lives, not to stand around gossiping in large groups. Get back to work, people."

The small crowd immediately scattered in all directions under Webber's chiefly stare.

Alex, Izzie and Meredith moved to head towards the elevators.

"Hold on, Karev. Where do you think you're going?" Webber called.

Alex shifted his weight nervously like a kid who had been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "To the clinic. It's flu season and-" The Chief cut him off.

"Don't think I didn't see you shove all that money under your scrub top." Webber's eyes fell upon the odd notes that stuck out from under Alex's shirt.

"It's just a small bet, Sir," said Alex unconvincingly as Meredith and Izzie watched on.

Richard eyed Alex threateningly before he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Fifty on Hunt," he said as he placed a crisp fifty dollar bill in Alex's hand.

"Yes Sir," swallowed Alex as he added it to the pile in his pocket before making a speedy escape.

* * *

Cristina felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier by the minute. She felt so secure and content in Owen's arms that she was beginning to feel sleepy.

"Shhh. Go to sleep. When you wake up, I'll still be here," whispered Owen softly in her ear. His beard grazed her earlobe lightly, sending a wave of shivers running up and down her spine.

"Really?" murmured Cristina sleepily.

"I'm not going anywhere, Cristina. I'm not going anywhere without you," promised Owen as he tightened his hold on her ever so slightly.

* * *

A few hours later, it was almost ten-thirty PM when a loud ripping noise woke both Owen and Cristina from their peaceful slumbers. Instinctively, Owen tightened his hold on Cristina, his hero-complex already in full-swing.

A figure in a biohazard suit appeared in the doorway. "Tests came back clean. You're both free to leave now."

"What?" Cristina stirred groggily as she sat up in Owen's arms.

"You two are plague-free," informed the figure. "Quarantine's over." With that, he ripped off the remaining plastic seal and deposited it into the bin near the door.

Cristina looked back at Owen who was staring patiently at her, waiting for her to say something.

"Come home with me?"

Owen merely smiled in response as he leaned forward and captured her lips between his; the kiss exchanged conveyed his silent yes.


	19. Chapter 19: Blank Page

**Author's Note:**_ Enjoy._

* * *

Despite the fact that he had been there a few days ago, Cristina's apartment now felt foreign to Owen as he had stepped through the once-familiar blue door. Cristina had gone to change into something more comfortable while Owen waited outside her room near the kitchen. He looked around and an overwhelming amount of memories were triggered by an assortment of objects around him. He saw the photo frame that he had bought Cristina a few years ago sitting on the counter top next to the bowl of fruit, but his heart sunk ever-so-slightly as he noticed the photo of him and Cristina that had been in it was missing. His eyes then drifted to the stainless steel sculpture of a heart on the coffee table in front of the sofa that he had bought for Cristina for her birthday three years ago. He smiled involuntarily as the memory of Cristina half-heartedly protesting years ago when he unveiled the small metal structure resurfaced in his mind. He remembered how she said that she simply had no room in her apartment for the present and yet, she hadn't objected to displaying it on the coffee table. So much had changed over the two years, yet some things had remained the same. He smiled ever-so-slightly as his eyes fell upon the pile of clothing that had accumulated near the door of Cristina's room and the unwashed coffee mugs that lay clattered in the sink. Despite the passing of time, Cristina was still the disorganised petite woman he had fallen in love with years ago. He seated himself quietly on the soft cream-coloured sofa and the events of the day replayed themselves in his head. The day had been so surreal that Owen found himself wondering whether this was all just a dream.

* * *

_Flashback - half an hour ago_

_Back in his office, Owen locked the door behind him and closed the blinds as he stripped off his scrub top and quickly slipped into his soft grey shirt. He and Cristina had parted after leaving the comfy confines of the attendings' room but not before they had agreed to meet on one of the benches near the hospital entrance in half an hour's time. He quickly slid into a pair of worn denim jeans. Checking his watch, he still had over twenty minutes left before he had to find Cristina. He grabbed his keys and his jacket as he pulled open the door to leave. As he did so, he almost collided head-on with none other than Derek Shepherd._

"_Hunt, there you are," said Derek as he straightened up his white coat. "I've been looking everywhere for you."_

"_Shepherd," acknowledged Owen. "Is something wrong?" A look of concern passed over Owen's face._

"_No, but I did hear about the quarantine with Yang. How did that go?" Derek laughed, a grin creeping across his face. He had hoped that all had gone well for Owen in the attendings' room despite the odds that were stacked against him._

"_What's with the sudden curiosity?" asked Owen, his eyes narrowing suspiciously._

"_Karev organised a small bet on the outcome of it. I think the odds were five to one?"_

"_Five to one? Who's way?" Owen couldn't help but feel curious._

"_Yang's way. Karev even said, let me quote, 'there's no way in hell Hunt can melt the Ice Queen'," laughed Derek._

"_So who did you bet on?" A look of amusement now dominated Owen's face._

"_A hundred and fifty on you and the hope that I won't ever wake up to find Cristina Yang in my bed again," Derek said as Owen burst out laughing. _

"_Well you might want to find Karev and collect your winnings."_

_Derek's eyes widened in surprise. "You and Yang are together again?" _

"_I think so," came Owen's slightly evasive reply as he checked his watch. "I have to go. I'm meeting Cristina soon," he said as he moved towards the elevators._

"_Hunt," Derek called after him. Owen turned around and looked at Derek questioningly. "Congratulations," said Derek with a grin._

_Owen merely smiled in response as he moved towards the opening elevator doors._

_End of Flashback _

* * *

"Hey." Cristina's voice pulled his thoughts back to Earth as she suddenly reappeared in the doorway of her bedroom, now dressed in her maroon Stanford hooded jacket and a pair of baggy black track pants.

"Hey there." Owen shuffled over on the couch, creating a space for Cristina to sit. Cristina stretched herself out onto the couch, placing her head gently in Owen's lap. The pair sat there in silence for a moment, Cristina stared up at the ceiling while Owen's fingers played absentmindedly with her wild ebony curls. Suddenly, a loud growling from Cristina's stomach shattered the silence. Cristina's cheeks reddened ever so slightly as the realisation that neither of them had eaten yet hit Owen.

"Do you want me to make you dinner?" he offered as he tucked a stray curl neatly behind her ear.

"No, it's okay. It's getting late." Cristina brushed off his offer, but as she reached for the medical journal on the coffee table, her stomach let off another loud growl.

"I'll go and make some pasta. I'll be right back," smiled Owen as he placed a soft kiss on Cristina's cheek before he got up and headed towards the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, Owen returned from the kitchen carrying two plates of steaming pasta and a pair of forks. "Dinner's ready," he called as he placed the plates and utensils on the wooden coffee table. "Cristina?" He turned around and found Cristina already fast-asleep on the couch, the open medical journal lay abandoned on the floor. The corners of Owen's mouth lifted to form a small smile as he took in the endearing sight. Then, he picked up Cristina gently in his arms, careful not to wake her as he carried her softly towards her bedroom where he laid her noiselessly on the bed before pulling the thick blanket tightly around her. As he did so, something that peeked out from under Cristina's pillow caught his eye. It was the green leather jacket he had lent to her after walking her home a couple of days ago. This small gesture evoked a strange wave of warmth that ran from Owen, reaching even the end of his fingertips. This was just another small sign that she had missed him.

Cristina let out a contented sigh as she nuzzled the pillow gently while Owen sat gingerly on one end of the bed as he watched Cristina adoringly. He sat there contemplating the idea of spending the night with Cristina in her bed, but then decided against it as it was too early in their relationship for him to be staying the night since they had just recently gotten back together. He tucked an errant curl behind her ear gently before he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Owen took one final look at Cristina's peaceful sleeping form before he left the room.

* * *

The loud chirping of birds could be heard indistinctively heard as soft rays of sunlight peeped through the thin curtains of Cristina's bedroom as she slept.

_BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEP._

An alarm clock sounded loudly from beside Cristina as she stirred groggily, her hand searching for the offending device. She managed to find the alarm switch on the clock, silencing the machine. She turned over slowly, half-expecting to find Owen lying on the other side of the bed, but her heart sank ever-so-slightly when all she saw was nice and unwrinkled sheets that no one had slept in. She found herself wondering whether yesterday had been just a dream or a figment of her imagination; it had all just been too good to be true. As she rolled out off her bed, a white folded sheet of paper lying on her bedside table caught her eye. She grabbed it and unfolded it quickly as her eyes darted quickly across the page.

_Cristina, _

_It was best that I didn't stay last night, but I'll see you tomorrow at the hospital._

_Love, Owen_

_PS – There's pasta in the kitchen._

Cristina left out a sigh of relief as a small smile crept across her face; yesterday hadn't been just a dream after all. She grabbed her towel from a chair nearby and she headed off to shower before she left for the hospital.

* * *

Half an hour later, Cristina waited impatiently for her coffee amidst the crowd of people at the refreshments stand near the entrance of the hospital.

"One large extra-hot cappuccino with cream," called the cheerful woman, holding a coffee cup that was filled to the brim with hot aromatic coffee.

"Mine," replied Cristina as she accepted the steaming cup of coffee from the lady's outstretched hand.

"Have a nice day," smiled the lady as Cristina grabbed a coffee collar from the stack near the counter.

"You too," answered Cristina almost absentmindedly as she sipped carefully at her extra hot coffee.

"Oi. Yang!" Alex's voice rang loudly from behind Cristina. Cristina turned around and found herself face-to-face with an out-of-breath Alex who was being followed by an assortment of nurses, interns, residents and even a few familiar faces from the cafeteria.

"What do you want, Karev?" asked Cristina as she eyed the large group that followed Alex suspiciously. The eager looks that the group of people sported was pretty disconcerting.

"Actually, we're just all interested in the outcome of your confinement with Hunt yesterday," replied Alex casually as the people behind him exchanged anticipative glances.

"I had no idea you cared." Cristina's eyes narrowed distrustfully.

"I don't. It's just we have a small bet going on the outcome." Alex shrugged indifferently.

"A small bet, huh?" replied Cristina sceptically as she took in the increasingly large group. Meredith suddenly appeared beside them. "Did you know they were betting about me?" she asked Meredith as her eyes shot daggers at Alex.

"Oh, Mer knows," laughed Alex before Meredith could reply. "She knows because she betted twenty on you."

"Alex!" Meredith's voice was indignant.

"You what?" Cristina rounded on Meredith as her voice rose a couple of decibels, attracting curious stares from people around them. "You're supposed to be my person!"

"I didn't start it," Meredith defended herself.

Cristina merely glared back in response.

"So? How'd it go? Hunt didn't stand a chance against you right?" persisted Alex eagerly, his eyes wide with anticipation.

"In your dreams am I ever going to tell you, Evil Spawn," retorted Cristina as she took another sip from her coffee.

Suddenly Owen appeared out of nowhere beside them with Derek and Mark, each sporting a cup of coffee.

"Hey there now," Owen smiled as he swooped in and gave Cristina a quick peck on the cheek, oblivious to the shocked expressions of the group surrounding them.

"Hey," murmured Cristina softly.

"So, Karev, when do I get my winnings?" drawled Mark loudly.

"Mine too," Derek added as he planted a quick kiss on Meredith's lips.

Alex's mouth was literally hanging open as he reached wordlessly into the pocket of his scrub pants and counted out a couple of fifty bills before he placed them in Derek's and Mark's waiting hands.

"See you at Joe's tonight, Hunt?" asked Derek cheerily as he pocketed the money. "Drinks are on me, courtesy of Karev and his friends here."

"Sure. See you there," replied Owen as he struggled to hide a grin at the shocked expression that still presided over Alex's face.

"What are you people doing?" The Chief's dominating figure appeared beside the group. "Get to work, people. This hospital sure as hell isn't going to run itself." The group behind dispersed almost immediately under the Chief's intimidating gaze. "Wait a second, Karev," called Richard as Alex attempted to make a speedy exit along with the crowd.

"Sir?" replied Alex as he shifted his weight nervously.

"I believe you owe me my winnings from the little wager," said Richard as he extended an open hand expectantly.

Noiselessly, Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out the rest of the fifties and placed them in Richard's waiting hands. "Have a good day, Chief," he muttered before he ducked quickly into the doors of the stairwell.

The Chief quickly counted the bills before folding them and slipping them into his back pockets. "Oh, Dr. Yang, Patricia's finished setting up Altman's old office for you so I'll get her to take you around so you can reacquaint yourself with the cardio wing," said Webber. "And Hunt, you have an ER to run." With that, Richard Webber disappeared into the bustling environment of the lobby.

"We should really get going," said Cristina quickly as Owen opened his mouth to speak. "But I'll see you later?"

"Okay," smiled Owen, planting a final kiss on her lips before he headed off to the ER.

* * *

It had been a excruciatingly painful day for Cristina. There had been a severe lack of cardio-related cases so she had resorted to paperwork in her new office to ease her boredom. She had leant the intern that had been assigned to her to Izzie in the clinic. Suddenly, a loud knocking sounded through her thin, wooden door.

"Come in," she called, not even bothering to look up from her paperwork.

"I hope you haven't eaten yet." The door swung open to reveal Owen holding two boxes of food from the hospital cafeteria as well as two bottles of juice.

"Hey." A smile appeared almost instantly on Cristina's face at the sight of Owen. She gestured to the plastic chair in front of her desk as she moved some of the stacks of paper on her desk to create a place for Owen to put the food.

"Slow day?" asked Owen as he placed a box of food and a drink in front of Cristina.

"Slow? More like boring," retorted Cristina as she dug in. "There's been a grand total of zero cardio cases today," she said as she took a swig of juice. "I need to cut."

"The Pit's been fairly quiet too, but if you want in, I'm performing a transurethral tumour resection in an hour," offered Owen, unwrapping his utensils from their plastic covering.

"I want a cardio case."

"Well, my offer's still on the table."

The soft ticking of the clock on Cristina's table could be heard as the two sat in silence for a couple of minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

_Beep Beep._

Owen's pager sounded loudly, breaking the silence.

"I have to go," said Owen apologetically as he glanced down at his pager.

"Okay. Least you know where I'll be. Sitting here. Doing paperwork," replied Cristina, prodding her salad moodily.

"I'll meet you at Joe's tonight?" he asked quickly as he donned his white coat.

"Yeah sure. Isn't Shepherd buying the drinks anyway?"

"Take care now," murmured Owen as he leant over the table to give Cristina a quick kiss before he dumped remainder of his lunch in the bin on his way out.

* * *

Cristina grabbed her coffee from the outstretched hand of the cafeteria lady before she headed towards the door.

"Isn't that like your third coffee of the day, Yang?" Derek appeared beside Cristina holding his own coffee as well as an apricot danish.

"Fourth," Cristina corrected as she sipped carefully at the hot beverage.

"That much caffeine isn't good for you." Obviously, Derek hadn't gotten the hint that Cristina was in no mood to chat.

"Whatever, _health nut_," retorted Cristina indifferently. "Why are you talking to me?"

"You're Meredith's best friend, aren't you?" came Derek's good-natured reply.

"That doesn't make us friends."

"Well, I'm glad you and Hunt are back together," said Derek as he deposited his now-empty coffee cup into a nearby bin.

"Because you made a killing off Alex's bet?"

"No." Derek paused, wondering whether or not he should voice his next thoughts. "I haven't seen Hunt so happy in a long time," he said quietly, his blue eyes looking seriously into Cristina's. "Believe me; he's sorry for everything that happened and he beats himself up about it every day. He hurt you before, but you did hurt him too when you left without a word."

"What are you trying to say?" asked Cristina bluntly.

"I'm saying, don't leave again." Derek's solemn blue eyes met Cristina's soft brown ones for a moment before the connection broke. "I have to go. Meredith needs me for a consult," said Derek as he reached for his pager.

He walked off leaving a confused, yet thoughtful-looking Cristina.

* * *

Izzie and her interns were already gowned and waiting in the ambulance bay as Owen arrived.

"What do we have?" asked Owen as he slipped the pair of latex gloves and yellow trauma gown being offered by the nurse.

"Incoming trauma, two minutes out," replied Izzie as she handed the sheet of paper to Owen.

"Any more details? I have a tumour resection at two," pressed Owen as they waited in the ambulance bay.

"Nope, but I've got a feeling you're going to want to reschedule that surgery. This trauma sounded big."

Almost as if on cue, an ambulance screeched around the corner at a neck breaking speed. Owen waited for it to slow as it approached the entrance of the hospital, but it didn't. Instead it sped up.

"Move! Move! Everyone, move back! Now!" he yelled as the realisation hit him that the ambulance had no intention of stopping. The interns dodged quickly into the safety of the hospital entrance, but Izzie stood there unmoving ambulance hurtled towards them.

From the corner of his eye, Owen noticed that Izzie was still stood there frozen with shock. "Stevens!" He threw himself towards Izzie, but it was too late. The ambulance collided with a bang against the white walls of the hospital building and the glass wall to its left shattered upon impact.


	20. Chapter 20: Old Wounds

**Author's Note:** _Dedicated to all the wonderful people (both here and on Tumblr) who encouraged me to keep writing/update my FanFic!_

* * *

_The ambulance collided with a bang against the white walls of the hospital building and the glass wall to its left shattered upon impact._

* * *

The towering stack of paper that had dominated Cristina's desk had now been reduced to mere sheets scattered across the smooth wooden surface. She was exhausted despite the shockingly large amount of caffeine she had ingested. She had become a surgeon to wield a scalpel, not a pen. Her finger now sported a bandaid which covered the nasty-looking paper cut from the manila folder that now lay innocently among the finished pile of paperwork she had finished. Cristina sighed loudly. Being the Head of Cardio had its advantages and disadvantages; good surgeries came with a mountain of paperwork. She already missed the life of being a nomadic surgeon who travelled from hospital to hospital, chasing countless hardcore surgeries across the country. Her phone vibrated loudly against her table, signifying a new message. It was a text from Meredith.

'_Bailey's got me on clinic duty. Keep me company? Please?'_ it read.

Cristina smiled to herself. She was definitely having a bad day, but it looked like she wasn't the only one. She stretched slowly before getting up from her chair. As she walked out, she added the empty coffee cup that lay on her desk to the growing pile in the bin near the door.

* * *

Back in the ambulance bay, a deafening silence filled the vicinity as bystanders looked on with expressions of surprise and horror. Shock seemed to have taken away their ability to speak as they stood frozen and immobile. It was almost as if time had suddenly slowed to a stop as thin tendrils of smoke crept out slowly from the twisted metal frame that now bore very little resemblance to an ambulance. Owen found himself flat on the cold concrete floor, lying a mere few feet away from the ambulance, surrounded by glittering fragments of glass that had rained around him when the ambulance had made contact with the wall. Physically, he was unscathed with the exception of a few minor cuts from the shard around him, but mentally, he was already continents away. The loud noise that had erupted from the collision was not unlike that of the bang created when a heavy army truck runs over a roadside bomb. Memories began to flow thick and fast as the mental dam that had held them in his mind broke and Owen soon found himself once again in the thick of it back in Iraq.

_Flashback_

_The hot desert wind whispered quietly around Owen as unforgiving waves of heat clung to his torn and bloody fatigues. His ears wear still ringing from the noise generated by the explosion when their vehicle had stumbled across the roadside bomb. Minutes ago, they had been laughing and joking with a patient in the back of the old army truck when their world literally flipped upside down. Mere seconds later, Owen had found himself being flung out of the vehicle and head first onto the scorching desert sand. Shreds of canvas that had once been the makeshift roof of their truck were now scattered around him as the wind lifted them in a spritely dance._

_He felt a hot sticky liquid running down the back of his thigh as he staggered slowly to his feet. His hands made their way across his dusty khakis and down to the source of the flow where his fingers stumbled across a jagged piece of metal that had made its way into his leg. Wincing slightly, he ripped the offending piece of metal out from his leg as blood began to flow freely from the open wound. As he turned to toss the metal aside when a slight movement in his peripheral vision caught caused him to turn sharply. He froze as he struggled to take in the sight before him. The truck that he had been in moments ago was now reduced to a smouldering pile of scrap metal as fine wisps of smoke slid smoothly from what bore very little resemblance to the former military vehicle._

_He staggered slowly towards the wreck in a dreamlike state and a cold blanket of dread fell upon him as he stared blankly at the smouldering wreckage, shock numbing every cell in his body. He had been taught to be calm and cool-headed and to methodically approach every problem thrown at him with a quick yet practical solution like a true trauma surgeon. But no amount of trauma training could have prepared him for what lay before him. He stood there in silence as he watched the final trails of smoke creep out from the wreck and disperse into the warm desert air, taking the lives of the other soldiers with it. Time held no meaning as all the remaining energy left in Owen's legs disappeared as he fell to his knees, his mind completely drained of all thoughts and emotions._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

As soon as Cristina walked through the ER doors, she knew that something was wrong. The ER was usually bustling with activity and patients, but now it was filled with an eerie silence and all that could be heard was the soft murmuring of the crowd of patients and doctors alike that had gathered near the entrance. Cristina pushed through the wave of people as she edged swiftly towards the doors, her curiosity growing. To her right, a small group of interns dressed in bright yellow trauma gowns stood numbly near the hospital entrance. She turned and her eyes widened almost immediately in shock as she took in the sight before her. What looked like a crushed ambulance lay crumpled against the hospital wall amidst the glistening mess of glass that was scattered around it. And beside it stood none other than Owen Hunt. Cristina stood there, waiting for the calm and collected Owen she knew to step up and start fixing the mess that lay before her.

'_Do something, Owen,'_ she thought quietly to herself as frustration began to build inside of her. The murmuring of the crowd grew louder behind her and Owen still remained unmoving. _'Damn it,' _she cursed mentally.

"Owen," she called softly, hoping to rouse him from his trancelike state.

No response.

"Owen," she called again, her voice a couple of decibels louder than before.

Still no response.

Suddenly, it hit Cristina as she noticed the blankness of his ocean blue eyes; a look she hadn't seen in over two years. In that second she realised despite the fact Owen was physically standing mere feet away, his mind was miles away.

"Dr. Hunt!" Her loud call rang loudly in the vicinity, creating a sudden hush amongst the crowd. Her voice seemed to have dragged Owen's mind back to the present as he jerked suddenly and he looked around, surprise evident on his face as he took in the sight before him. In mere seconds, he had snapped quickly into his trauma surgeon mode and he moved swiftly towards the crowd.

"Someone page Webber. Get the trauma room 1 and 2 ready and get an OR on standby," he called as he grabbed a fresh pair of latex gloves from a nearby nurse. "All unnecessary personnel need to leave now. This place is crowded enough as it is." The crowd remained unmoving as they stared back at him. "Do I need to repeat myself?" asked Owen, this time louder than before.

The group scattered immediately with the exception of a couple of interns, nurses and Cristina.

"What the hell happened here?" demanded Webber as he pushed past the dispersing crowd and came to a stop in front of Owen.

"I don't know. The ambulance was carrying incoming trauma and I was waiting here with a group of interns and Stevens-" Owen broke off immediately as he realised that Izzie was nowhere in sight. "Stevens!" He moved quickly towards the crumpled wreck, ignoring Richard's questioning look. He found Izzie lying unconscious mere inches away from the wreck on the other side of the ambulance with a nasty gash on her head as blood trickled slowly from it. "I need a gurney over here now!" He called as he dragged Izzie swiftly away from the smouldering wreck.

Cristina watched on as Owen loaded Izzie swiftly onto the stretcher with the help of the Chief and two other interns.

"The fire brigade is on its way. We can't do anything until we can get access to the people inside the vehicle," informed Richard as the interns swiftly wheeled the stretcher towards the hospital doors. "Don't worry about Stevens. Bailey'll take care of her," he added, noting the look of concern in Owen's eyes. "Any sign of movement in there?" Richard gestured towards the wreck of metal.

"I don't think so," came Owen's reply as he bent down squinted at the wreck.

"Owen." Cristina's voice came quietly from behind Owen, as if she was trying not to startle him.

"Dr. Yang," he acknowledged without turning around. "You shouldn't be here. This place is going to get very busy soon and we need to clear the area of all unnecessary personnel." His voice was completely devoid of any emotion.

"Yeah right, Owen. Like hell I'm leaving," replied Cristina, her voice incredulous.

"Dr. Yang –" began Owen before the Chief cut him off.

"Let her stay, Hunt. We'll need all the help she can offer," said Richard as he pulled on a set of white latex gloves.

Owen remained silent as they waited for the fire crew to arrive, acting completely oblivious to the look of incredulity radiating from Cristina's direction.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the fire brigade had arrived and begun to slowly peel the wreck apart layer by layer. Patience had never been one of Owen's virtues and his frustration was easily visible in his impatient pacing and frequent glances at the wreckage. Meanwhile, Cristina had resigned herself to sitting on the cold concrete floor with her arms around her knees, her doe brown eyes silently tracking Owen's every move. She should have known he still wasn't whole and healed. She should have noticed the tell-tale signs, but she'd been so caught up in the happy bubble of bliss created by their reunion after two long years of separation. Her eyes trailed slowly back to Owen's pacing figure.

"We've got someone free!"

The loud cry from a fireman broke her train of thoughts and her eyes flickered immediately towards the wreck.

Owen immediately straightened up and move swiftly towards the wreck.

"We'll get him onto the stretcher on my count," he instructed as a gurney was wheeled speedily over. "One, two, three."

"What've we got?" Cristina suddenly appeared beside him.

"See for yourself. Extensive chest injuries, lacerations everywhere and probably a broken femur. Page Torres and book an OR," came Owen's reply, avoiding Cristina's stare as he handed the chart to her. "Looks like your day just got interesting," he remarked darkly before he walked back towards the wreck where the second passenger in the front of the ambulance was being extracted.

Cristina stared after him, dumbfounded. She hadn't expected him to close up so abruptly from her. But now was not the time to argue as they both had jobs to do and lives to save. She shot him one final glance before she followed the stretcher through the doors of the hospital.

* * *

One of his patients was already dead by the time they had managed to extract her while the other was only just hanging on by a thread due to a large amount of blood loss. But by the time they had gotten the patient to the OR, he had begun to crash and had been unable to be resuscitated. Owen had called time of death before he snapped off his gloves and disappeared through the scrub room doors with a bang, leaving the nurses to close the man up.

His mind was a mess as he strode down the halls of the hospital. The OR board told him that Cristina was still in surgery. He didn't know where he was headed, but all he knew was that he needed to get out of there and into the open air where the flow of memories would trickle to a stop. As soon as he made it just out of the hospital doors, his pager sounded loudly. His eyes widened slightly. It was from Cristina. _OR 2 – STAT._ He turned around immediately and walked briskly towards the OR.

He scrubbed in a record-breaking time, grabbing a fresh mask from the pile near the window which he fastened on as he strode into the OR.

The nurse efficiently slipped him into a surgical gown followed by a pair of gloves. "Fill me in," he requested, moving closer to the OR table, stopping next to Cristina.

"He just started crashing and his bleeding from everywhere," came Cristina's reply as her hands moved frantically around the patient's insides. "Can you somehow stabilise him?"

Owen silently nodded, signifying his assent before stretching out his hand. "Clamp."

* * *

Owen had managed to stabilise the patient with the help of the green fibrin sealant which replicated the body's clotting process, thus temporarily stopping the bleeders.

"Thank you," breathed Cristina as the patient's BP and heart rate returned to the stable range.

"You're welcome," came Owen's reply as he returned the jar of sealant back to the tray. "Page me if he starts to crash again," he said as he discarded his blue surgical gown into the basket as he headed towards the door.

Cristina merely stared after him. He was starting to avoid her; it was unlike him to just stabilise a patient then leave. He usually hung around until the surgery was over or until he got paged. She sighed softly. It felt like they were back to square one with their relationship and it hadn't even been a week yet.

* * *

Cristina's surgery had been a success with the exception of a few minor complications. The patient was stable, but critical so the next twenty fours would be crucial. She watched as the patient was wheeled out of the OR and towards the ICU by a couple of nurses before she too left. She deposited the bloody gloves into the medical waste bin on her way towards the door. She was still wearing her scrub cap as she left the OR when she collided with the figure waiting outside. It was Owen. He had already changed from his scrubs into his signature leather jacket and grey button up shirt. His eyes still carried that haunted look from before, but his expression looked a great deal more controlled.

"Hey." He offered the monosyllabic word with a slightly forced smile.

"Uh hi." She didn't know what else to say. He was the last thing she had expected to be waiting for her when she finished her surgery.

A short pause fell upon them as they stared at each other in silence. "Surgery was good?" he pressed cautiously.

"Yeah, the patient's fine, but still critical." Cristina removed the scrub cap and her wild ebony curls cascaded around her.

Another pause.

"I'll wait for you at the hospital entrance while you get showered and changed," said Owen quietly, brushing his hand gently against hers.

A tingle ran through Cristina's arm like an electric current from the hand Owen touched and spread through her body.

"Okay."

Owen leaned forward and brushed his lips gently against her forehead before turning and heading towards the exit of the hospital.

Cristina stared dumbfounded after him for a split second before she gathered her wits and headed off in the opposite direction to get changed.

* * *

"Cristina. Cristina!" Her name rang loudly as she passed a patient's room. Confused, she ducked her head into one of them and saw Izzie sitting up on one of the stretcher beds, sporting a large bandaid that stretched across her forehead.

"Izzie. How are you feeling?" Cristina crossed the room and took a seat in one of the chairs beside the bed.

"Better, although it feels like I just got run over by an ambulance," joked Izzie as she sat up a bit more.

"You didn't exactly get run over, you know," retorted Cristina as she grabbed Izzie's chart from the edge of the bed.

"Only because Hunt saved me," Izzie corrected. "If he hadn't, I probably wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."

Cristina looked up from the chart. This piece of information was new to her. "Owen did what?"

"He yelled and tried to push me out of the way," replied Izzie simply as she reached for the plastic spoon. "Could you pass me the lime jell-o?"

Cristina handed the cup to Izzie wordlessly, her mind lost in thought.

"Anyway, don't you have somewhere to be? You don't have to sit here and keep me company. Alex is off in a few minutes," said Izzie, reaching for the remote. "Go. Go have fun with Dr. Hunt," she teased as she began flicking through the fuzzy channels on the TV.

"Alright. I'll come check up on you tomorrow then." Cristina closed the chart and returned it to its rightful position at the foot of the bed.

"You'll thank your boyfriend properly for me, won't you?" called Izzie suggestively after her.

Cristina merely rolled her eyes in response.

* * *

The usually bustling lobby was now emptier now the sun had set completely as Owen sat waiting in one of the hard plastic chairs that lined the walls near the entrance.

"Ready to go?" Cristina suddenly appeared beside Owen, showered and dressed in civilian clothing.

"Yeah. My place tonight?" He wanted to put as much of a distance as he could between himself and the hospital as the events of today had taken quite a toll on him as he felt both mentally and physically drained.

He reached for Cristina's hand, needing some sort of reassurance that he was indeed in the present, not the past.

She was surprised at the sudden contact from Owen, but she didn't show any signs of it. "Okay," she replied as she pulled him to his feet.

He didn't let go of her hand as they walked briskly out the hospital doors and towards Owen's car. The car ride to his apartment was made in silence.

It felt like déjà vu for Cristina as it had been years since she had made this familiar trip. In their years of separation, she had indulged in the occasional fantasy of someday making this exact journey to Owen's apartment, but she hadn't anticipated it'd be a silent one though.

Owen opened the door to his apartment before he slung his jacket over the back of one of the sofas. "Do you want me to cook or order in?"

"I don't mind." Cristina looked around the apartment. An expression of slight surprise crept over her face as she took in her surroundings. Not much had changed; the furniture was still arranged the way it had been two years ago, the same old patterned carpet still lay underneath the varnished coffee table and the walls were still the same creamy white.

"Is pasta okay?" asked Owen, opening the door of the fridge and began pulling out the ingredients he needed.

"Pasta sounds great," replied Cristina as she offered him a small smile. She could tell that today hadn't been easy on Owen and the memory of being brushed off and ignored was still fresh in her mind. Although tonight probably wasn't the best time, they would need to have a talk about everything sometime soon.

* * *

After dinner, Owen had gone to load the dishwasher with their plates while Cristina had settled herself on the couch. She heard the patter of footsteps behind her before Owen settled himself beside her, wrapping his arm around her small frame. Immediately, she shifted so that she was more comfortably enveloped in his embrace and she put her ear against his chest and listened to the muffled beats of his heart through his shirt. They sat comfortably in silence for a couple of minutes, each immersed in their own thoughts.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Cristina quietly as she turned to look up at Owen.

His posture immediately stiffened and his eyes darkened ever so slightly. "No."

This was what Cristina had feared the most, Owen slowly closing himself up to her. But she wasn't going to give in just yet.

"When was the last time you saw Dr. Wyatt?" she persisted, not letting him avoid her questioning gaze.

Owen remained silent.

Cristina sighed. It took two to make a relationship work and right now, Owen wasn't contributing at all. She decided to just give him some time and space to recollect his thoughts.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," she said as she got up slowly and reached to grab her jacket from the edge of the sofa. Owen's hand stopped her before she could do so and she turned around to look at him questioningly.

"Wait." He didn't let go of her hand. He struggled for his next words as Cristina stood there staring back at him.

"I haven't seen Dr. Wyatt in a while."

"How long?"

Owen exhaled loudly before answering. "Since you left."

Cristina's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously, Owen?"

"After you left, I had no reason to go anymore. Teddy never pushed me or said anything so I never went," replied Owen quietly, his blue eyes not leaving her face, monitoring her reactions.

"Okay then." A pause. "Are you going to go back?" Cristina moved closer so she was now standing directly in front of Owen.

"Do you want me to go back?" Owen turned the question back on Cristina.

"Yes." She began to gently caress his face; the smooth surface of her hand savoured the rough feel of his stubbled face. "I want you to go back."

"Okay," he said as he gently pulled her back onto the couch, burying his face in the dip of her shoulder. No more words needed to be exchanged between the pair as they had reached a mutual understanding and agreement. Cristina was the thing that mattered most in his life, and he would go to great lengths to keep her. He detested the idea of having to go back to Dr Wyatt's office for exhausting long hours of therapy and recollections of memories he'd rather forget, but Cristina was worth enduring every second of it.


End file.
